Where to find support for families of stroke victims?
My dad had a massive stroke three years ago while I was an underclassman. The specialist who came in to see him sitting and talking though she was walking in on a vegetable.
I’m still struggling with, in a lot of ways, losing my father. He is still alive. But he’s physically weak. He’s emotionally unstable. Often, he’s cruel. And then 30 minutes later he’ll be doting and loving. The doctors took him off coumadin, thank god, so he’s been much kinder in the last few months.
I live about two hours away, and I’m their oldest child, and the only “adult.” In the coming months, I’ll be their only child living within 800 miles. I’m my mom’s main support network. She didn’t have many friends before my father’s stroke, and she has fairly weak ties to her own family. While my own support network is fairly healthy, I don’t think most people understand how much a stroke can change a loved one. It’s not just their physical strength — it’s their personality and attitude. In some ways, you have to forge a new relationship.
I don’t know how to deal with it sometimes. It can be like talking to a ghost. I don’t know where to find support for the families and friends -- every resource I’ve found has been for the stroke victims themselves.
So, please, someone, help.