Long-term care planning for a stroke

by | Aug 25, 2015 | Long-Term Care Planning |

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t need to do any long-term care planning in New York just because you feel healthy right now. Some health conditions can come almost out of nowhere, without any warning, and they can leave you unable to make medical decisions or do any care planning on your own.

One such health issue is a stroke, and some of the common side effects include:

— Partial paralysis, especially on one side of the body.– The inability to vocalize anything.– The inability to talk and form words, even when vocalization remains.– Issues with cognition, such as the inability to think coherently and clearly for very long.– Issues with your memory.– The inability to recognize people or physical items.– The inability to read or write.– Emotional problems, often leading to excessive crying for no apparent reason.

There are some signs that a stroke is coming, and a doctor can monitor things like blood pressure to tell you if you are a high risk. However, these can often strike out of the blue, so people will go from being healthy, both mentally and physically, to being partially paralyzed and unable to think clearly in the span of a day.

This sudden onset of symptoms that often can’t be reversed is why it’s so helpful to have all of your long-term care planning done in advance. This way, you know that your wishes are going to be followed and you’re going to get the care that you need, no matter what happens or what you’re able to do after an incident.

Source: Stroke.org, “Post-Stroke Conditions,” accessed Aug. 25, 2015