Father Knows Best

One of the side effects of stroke is that the person can become more stubborn or short tempered-
"Damage to certain parts of the brain can actually reduce emotional control and increase fearfulness or irritability. The stroke survivor may have less control over their emotions. It may be harder to adjust to change and learning. Relearning everyday things is often more difficult than expected. Stroke survivors may seem impulsive, stubborn or insensitive. They may not be aware of the effect they are having on those around them. This can be a direct cause of the damage that has occurred. These changes can be very distressing for the families of stroke survivors who are trying so hard to help."
We have had several problems with my dad thinking he still knows best for himself and refuses to listen to anyone else at times about even the simplest things. He refuses to use his cane, saying he doesn't need it although he has a noticeable limp, and has lost his balance to the point of falling over, we have to remind him to take it with him, because he will try to leave it behind on purpose.
When I was taking my dad shopping one day, he was eating a muffin in the car and had gotten crumbs all over himself and when we were stopped at a stop light he took off his seat belt and started to open the door...I mildly freaked out. He was going to get out of the car to brush off the crumbs, the only problem was that on his side of the car the traffic was moving as we were in the left turn lane and the people going straight had a green light, so he would have opened his door and stepped out into traffic.
The worst decision he has made so far was when he was being released from the hospital and he knew that his IV was supposed to come out before he went home, so he just yanked it out. Then instead of calling a nurse to stop the incredible amount of bleeding that followed, he walked across the hospital room (making a big gory mess) and tried to stop it himself. This was when we knew his decision making was really impaired by the strokes and we needed to make sure he was not left alone.
We have since put him in a day program, when we go to the store we take walkie talkies so if he does walk away we can find him, have had to hide all the keys to the car, and lock up all the household medication as he has tried to take some of his own, on his own, and has picked up my pill box instead of his own.


http://www.strokerecovery.org/learn.htm#8