Kathy Young's Stroke Recovery

April Fool's ended up not being a joke. I (Angie) received a text in the morning that my mom had a stroke. After packing and wrapping up work, I headed to Sioux Falls to meet my mom and dad there. My mom was flown by the helicopter from Estherville. Luckily my husband helped support me by filling my car with gas, packing snacks, and booking my hotel room. Almost all the hotels were booked, but he found one for my dad and me.

Friday, April 1st, she had a bunch of tests, but we didn't hear the results until April 2nd. Unrelated, and non-symptomatic, she has an artery in her neck that is narrowed, blocking 79% of the blood. Something that could be trouble in the future, so it's good they found it. We learned that the stroke was in the small vessels of her brain stem. The platelets built up, causing a blood clot. They don't remove these types of clots because the small blood vessels are too small. She has a long road ahead of learning to use her arm and leg again. She has some trouble talking, but she's getting better.

It was a long day seeing the physical therapist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, general hospital Dr, neuro nurse practitioner and all the nurses. Shout out to the wonderful nurses here! So helpful!

She's in good spirits, but upset she can't talk as well or move her arm or leg. I told her it'll come with time, as they are on a little vacation. I learned something interesting: the part of the brain where the stroke happened won't work anymore. The rest of your brain says, "hey! Let me give that arm control a chance!", etc. Then that part of the brain tries to learn how to do that for the first time.That's why healing can take so long.

Send good thoughts and prayers my mom's way, helping her recover. If you end up messaging her, she may be slow to respond. It's hard to type with one hand. She'll get moved into inpatient rehab this week. We should know around to Tuesday, April 5th?

The money will go towards supporting my dad with a hotel room, gas, food, and bills when visiting my mom in this long recovery.

Sending thanks in advance from the Young's and Fude's!