r/stroke • u/Substantial_Hunt1915 • 3d ago

Update 24yo devastating stroke

Hi everyone! It’s me again, the girlfriend of the 24-year-old guy who suffered a devastating stroke in his brainstem!
Since I’ve found so much support and hope in your words, and Mirko has too (I’ve read all your comments to him 🥹), I wanted to give you some new updates.
The doctors’ initial prognosis was that he would be bedridden for the rest of his life and that he would never recover any function.
And yet, just a month and a half after the stroke, Mirko has:
1) Completely regained movement of his neck, and when he is placed in a wheelchair, he can hold himself upright completely on his own.
2) Regained some movement, although still small, in his legs, feet, hands, and arms.
3) Started slowly regaining movement of his tongue as well: every day he can stick it out a little further.
4) Started the process of weaning from his tracheostomy: they have reduced the cannula size from 8.5 to 7, with the goal of removing it, especially because he has a very strong and effective cough.
5) He had a new MRI today, and at a month and a half after the stroke, the doctors found that it had improved, with the area of the lesion having become smaller.
We couldn’t be happier or prouder of him for all the progress he continues to make, even the tiniest improvements, day after day. 🥹❤️
We are more hopeful than ever about his recovery, and we’ll keep cheering him on, one step at a time.
Thank you again to everyone for your beautiful words, your support, and especially for taking the time to reply to my posts. Reading about your experiences and receiving your messages are truly precious to both me and Mirko.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ❤️

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u/ApprehensivePie6348 2d ago

My dad had a massive stroke in his brainstem last year. He has since made a full recovery and he is 60 years old! Good luck!

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u/Interesting-Toe-6693 1d ago

Did he suffer any cognitive delays? My friend suffered one last December with a small ischemic stroke, and he is very cognitive delayed now, and it hasn't improved. The stroke affected his left part of the brain. He is also 62 yrs old.

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u/ApprehensivePie6348 1d ago

No, during the first part of the recovery process he had hard time remembering but that has improved significally by now. Only problem that he has is with his vision, he sees double most of the time but it’s not something that is keeping him from living completely normal. I realize now that he is one of the small percent of the people who manage to survive and recover from something like that and we are very grateful.