Hi, my grandmother has recently had a quite major stroke, that for a while left her paralysed on the left had side of her body. This gradually faded and now she has only slight facial paralysis and a slight speech issue. Whilst in hospital concerned family members decided to pave in some of her garden (she is 88 and still gardening dawn til dusk on the fine days) for fear of her slipping over in the garden. When she eventually arrived home some months later, she was furious that this had occurred and set about removing all of the heavy concrete tiles by hand and re-establishing her garden. She lives alone. I am concerned that this heavy exertion will bring on another stroke. Is this a justified fear, or is the exercise good for her recovery? Prior to the stroke I would have expected this kind of activity from her as she has been doing this kind of heavy garden work for years, but now I am not so sure.

Hi Iccy,

Well generally exercise is recommended to avoid a stroke. To be honest I cannot find a great deal of information to say that physical exertion can cause a recurrance of stroke, but that does not mean it is impossible. I imagine it would be beneficial for your grandmother to undertake light daily exercise while she recovers (easier said than done, by the sound of it). Heavy exercise or lifting may not cause another stroke, but could lead to other injuries.

I feel that your best bet may be to discuss the situation with your grandmother and come up with a solution for the garden that everyone is happy with. Stress to her that you are worried about her health and that family members are willing to do any heavy physical work for her, but she can continue to do her own gardening.

Hope that helps.

Johan - icommunicate