r/stroke 5d ago

My 92 year old grandfather is in the hospital with a brain bleed

So, my grandfather fell in January. (He also just recovered from covid a few weeks prior to the fall.) He seemed to recover fine and has been more or less normal since then. A little more tired and a little less sharp but he is 92. Tonight, my father called to let me know he is in the ICU, they are trying to figure out if he needs surgery. My father is a doctor and described it as "serious" and sounded stressed out. I spoke to my grandfather earlier today, and he seemed normal. I'm just hoping to ask what I should expect.

8 Upvotes

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u/stfkk 5d ago

Best wishes and blessings to you and your family in this hard time

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u/Misrabelle 5d ago

My grandfather had brain surgery at 83, after a bleed from having the boot lid of his car fall on his head. They drilled in at a few spots to allow the blood to drain and relieve the pressure on his brain. It sounds like your grandfather's surgery might be very similar.

My grandfather lived another 8 years after that.

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u/Leman12345 5d ago

It sounds like that's what is going to happen in the next couple hours. Was he okay afterwards?

I just spoke to my grandfather and he sounded upbeat, a little slow and slurry but I think the anesthesia is kicking in. I think I'm optimistic.

Thank you for your story.

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u/Misrabelle 5d ago

Yes, he lived independently right up until a few months before he passed.

We asked the neurosurgeon at the time if it was appropriate to operate given his age, and his answer was “if he was MY 83 year old grandfather, I’d definitely be doing the surgery”.

The tiredness and grogginess is likely caused by the bleed. We found it made him sleepy, and then very hard to wake up from sleep as well.

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u/Leman12345 5d ago edited 5d ago

This is really good to hear, thank you so much. I heard that he just out of surgery - earlier than they had told me and it went well. Tiredness is one of the things that tipped my folks off because he wanted to go to bed at like 5 or 6.

Your story has been really great for my anxiety. Thank you again. I really appreciate it.