How I took care of my dad after a ruptured brain aneurysm

My dad was in the hospital undergoing back surgery and while he was in the hospital he had a ruptured brain aneurysm. I really think that the reason he survived is because he was already in the hospital. He had a stroke and he underwent emergency brain surgery in the hospital. The experience after the surgery was very hard on my dad and our family. My dad spent a very long time in the hospital recovering. He got so depressed that he tried to commit suicide by removing his IV and anything that was attached to him. He said he didn’t want to live anymore. Also, he had to learn how to talk and walk again. He slurred his words and was uncoordinated.

When my dad was finally released from the hospital, it was a full-time job taking care of him. Having the help of a nurse is one thing but he wanted his family around. I walked with him slowly while he tried to keep his balance. One of the things that happened is that he would laugh uncontrollably out of the blue. The doctor told me to expect this. He had such a hard time learning to talk and pronouncing words. When he came home, some of his friends visited. Some people brought gifts such as toy cars as if he were a child and trying to learn all over again. While they meant well, they didn’t understand that while he had suffered from a brain injury, he was re-learning language and motor skills, not mentally challenged or retarded. It felt insulting to me and him as well. Some people didn’t know what to say and left soon after they arrived. So we stopped having visitors even though they had been close friends.

Eventually, my dad recovered to the point that he could speak again but he was just a little hard to understand. I was proud because he worked so hard. He walked just fine (although with a cane) and went back to enjoying his life. But he could never work again. In some ways that was OK because he had such a stressful life when he did work. He always wanted to be so successful and that meant never relaxing or enjoying himself. Always on the go. I will never forget the recovery period. It was worth it but it does take many years to get back to a more normal lifestyle.