Q: My father suffered from a brain haemorrhage (brain stroke) one and a half years ago. He is still not well. His right side is totally paralysed and is not functional. Initially, he had also lost his voice but it came back on its own. Now the doctors say that there is no medicine, which can help him to overcome from this disease. What should we do to make his condition better?

A:The process of recovery from a CVA (cerebro-vascular attack) or stroke occurs spontaneously over a period of time, generally reaching a plateau after 12 months. The hemiplegia (paralysis of one side) becomes less but some residual dysfunctions can remain. The is no medicine as such for the problems your father is facing - other than the drugs prescribed by his physician to keep BP in check. One option is to take him for speech therapy. This can be helpful to stimulate recovery of speech, chart progress, and keep up the morale because emotional lability is an inevitable reaction to the frustrations he is experiencing. The family also needs counselling.