Many health experts have discovered that stroke is the main reason of deaths in the world, which may also cause disability in case a person survives. Due to the brain damage accompanied by the stroke, the victim needs long-term personal care to increase his/her chances to live a long life (Evashwick, 2005).
Although stroke victims rarely recover, there are some cases when it takes at least two years to get over it. Stroke completely disables a victim as the one is unable to do a thing, and therefore, the patient is useless for a long period or the entire lifetime. During this period, the person will need intensive personal care and attention. Therefore, the only people able to help the stroke victim are the family members or the guardians.
The most important step in handling a stroke survivor is to prepare him or her psychologically for any eventual outcome of the disability. Medical experts associate stroke with frequent back pains. It is important for the patient to understand all the possible outcomes of the stroke (Bogousslavsky, 2002).
The family members should closely monitor the patient since isolating a patient on the basis of his/her disability worsens the state of health and does not contribute to the improving. Stroke patient is likely to recover faster when he or she feels appreciated in the society than becomes alienated from the world.
To improve the standards of care of the patient, the family should consider buying some important equipment for use by the patient so that he or she can at least perform some tasks on his/her own. Such equipments include the wheelchair, handheld urinal and bedside commode.
The wheelchairs are very essential as they give a person an opportunity to move anywhere within their ability. The handheld urinal and the bedside commode are very important for individual wellbeing as they help an individual to answer the call of nature when no one is within to help. Though these equipments are very expensive, they are very resourceful in the long run in assisting the stroke patient within the family (Bogousslavsky, 2002).
Long-term care will aid the stroke patients because they are no longer able to do any task on their own. There are several services that the stroke patient will need in the long run. These are nursing, medical, community, social and custodial services. Moreover, these services can also be provided at nursing homes or personal homes. Family members must note that stroke patients who are not well attended to are prone to deteriorating health eventually shortening their life span.
It is also important to note that a person providing a personal care to stroke patients should know that the stroke survivors cannot express themselves freely regarding their urgent needs. For example, bathing, grooming and dressing require a close family member to assist a patient in most occasions (Evashwick, 2005). Moreover, helping the patient use the toilet and eat are the most essential activities that promote the stroke victims’ health standards and wellbeing.
In some cases, it is possible for a family to hire a specialized caregiver to attend to the patient when the family is not able to attend to a person. Stroke survivors need a specialized attention all the time which will also call for more resources to be used.
The family may ask for a help from a professional nurse or take the patient to a nursing home for more specialized care. Moreover, specialized medication is also needed to help the patient to get over, which calls for taking concerted actions to ensure the stroke victim receives the best health care (Evashwick, 2005).
References
Bogousslavsky, J. (2002). Long-term effects of stroke. New York: M. Dekker.
Evashwick, C. (2005). The continuum of long-term care. New York: Thomson/Delmar Learning.