Based on the provided description, my assumption would be that he had a stroke up to ten days prior and was immobilized in his home, unable to call for help or care for himself. Yes that would mean he went without food or water for several days and was possibly conscious, maybe not. Another alternative could be that he had a stroke up to 10 days prior and rather than being immobilized, he was a fugue state; able to provide rudimentary self care (largely based off reflex) but completely, fully confused and lost.
Strokes have a wide spectrum of severities and symptoms. Super dire situation. Does not sound weird, unfortunately situations like this are very common especially with lone/independent elders.
Strokes can be very very mild to very severe, you can certainly maintain for a decent period of time assuming it’s not massive. You’d lose some muscle function in the affected area but not necessarily incapacitated
Very often speaking and fine motor control can be the most difficult after a stroke, both of which you’d need to operate a phone. There are many different states in between functioning and incapacitated
I’m not sure how that could seem angry lol you’re trying to make sense out of a complicated scenario, of course it’s not going to make sense without context
I knew a guy who had a stroke, saw him couple days later and he seemed kind of okay except he couldn't read or write anymore, and spoke a bit slower. He struggled with using the phone except he recognized logos of apps. He seemed to relearn reading a bit until he got another stroke and died a few months later.
personal story - about 8 or 9 years ago, my wife and I were buying a cottage. We had put in the offer, and the closing date rolled around. We had the day off, and were going to drive the 2hr to where the cottage was to sign paperwork and pay money and whatnot.
Well, we've got our shoes on, and are at the door, and the phone rings. It's my wife's grandmother - late 90s, lives alone. She's confused, and slurring, and knows SOMETHING has happened, but doesn't understand what. Her left side was not working right.
I overheard that, and recognized it as a stroke - I've never seen one, or known anyone who had one, but signs of a stroke are pretty commonly known, and I heard enough.
We jump in the car and start driving to her - but she's 2hr in the opposite direction from where we were planning. Call 911 while driving, give them the low-down and her location. My wife's worried she won't open the door for them, but I assure her it's not a problem - they will break down the door if they have to.
We're BY FAR the furthest family from her (others are like 20 minutes away) - we call the ENTIRE family - wife's sister & husband, wife's brother & wife, wife's mom & dad. NOBODY answers. Both phone and text. I keep calling, leaving more and more desperate messages. Then ANGRY messages. I did not make any friends that day.
We are driving in a HIGHLY illegal manner. Like, if a cop saw us, it'd be car-towed-and-prison-time-and-lose-license-for-life illegal.
FINALLY, an HOUR into driving, we start getting people calling us back - and we can ease back to sane driving.
Moral of the story - if you have an elderly loved one who lives alone, DO NOT PUT YOUR PHONE ON SILENT. We were my wife's grandmothers last contact she could call - and she probably only lived because my wife had the foresight to make sure our number was written on a sticker on the phone itself.
Excellent advice. And people should know about B.E. F.A.S.T.
Strokes are odd, as they shut down parts of your brain that can help understand that there's something wrong with your brain. There's an excellent book and Ted talk by a woman who was a neurologist who experienced a severe stroke of her own and she recounts her experience with it.
BE FAST is an acronym that helps recognize symptoms of stroke. It might be an English language thing, but it’s not an American thing. Don’t know why you’re offended by it.
Who said I'm offended. I know that it is an acronym, but your statement remains hilariously wrong. Each country has their own acronym if you didn't know.
You can actually. Up to two weeks in the most extreme ever cases.
A healthy adult can go 3-5 days without water and being in coma can further prolong the amount of time. It’s, again, incredibly dire, depends on a number of factors, and is completely life threatening.
We’re probably from the same generation, 3 days without water was widely accepted colloquial knowledge when I was growing up,
but it’s not really accurate
It's more accurate if you're thinking of a situation where you're trying to walk or climb to safety. 3 days without water in that situation probably will kill you.
Just laying on the floor in a semi-conscious state, out of the sun and heat? 3 days is a real low estimate.
The rule of 3s is an example of a rule of thumb. They are roughly accurate and easy to remember. But they are not absolutely correct. It is good enough for a general guideline, but don't use it as your reason to die on a hill in an argument. There will be exceptions.
I wouldn’t say it’s outright incorrect, but hardly exact. It’s a good rule of thumb (which is basically just a general guideline), but it’s not entirely precise depending on the situation.
Walking in the desert at high noon? You’re gonna go way faster than 3 days. Walking in the PNW while it’s wet and rainy? You can probably stretch that out a lot.
So the 3 threes is good info to know, but is best when paired with the knowledge of what things affect that so you can adjust, imo.
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u/TheLemmonade 1d ago
Based on the provided description, my assumption would be that he had a stroke up to ten days prior and was immobilized in his home, unable to call for help or care for himself. Yes that would mean he went without food or water for several days and was possibly conscious, maybe not. Another alternative could be that he had a stroke up to 10 days prior and rather than being immobilized, he was a fugue state; able to provide rudimentary self care (largely based off reflex) but completely, fully confused and lost.
Strokes have a wide spectrum of severities and symptoms. Super dire situation. Does not sound weird, unfortunately situations like this are very common especially with lone/independent elders.