, Hyunyoung Heo2
1College of Nursing, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea
2Stroke Care Unit, Dong-A University Hospital, Busan, Korea
© 2025 Korean Society of Nursing Science
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0) If the original work is properly cited and retained without any modification or reproduction, it can be used and re-distributed in any format and medium.
“It felt like the process of saying, ‘Daddy’s girl, let’s wash,’ was already in my brain, but the words would not come out. It just stopped here (pointing to his mouth). It wouldn’t progress beyond ‘Da… Da… Da….’ Why wasn’t it working? Why? It was so frustrating, constantly feeling this way.” (P6, M/35, 3 days after onset)
“At first, I couldn’t understand anything—it was just buzzing sounds. As I gradually improved, I was able to catch words little by little. I tried reading books, but the readability was so poor. I tried to read a book called The Vegetarian, but I couldn’t understand it at all. The readability was poor, and even when I watched YouTube, I still couldn’t make sense of it.” (P2, M/49, 2 days after onset)
“For a moment—really, just for a moment—I was completely speechless. ‘Oh my God, I really cannot speak.’ I was so worried, thinking, ‘What should I do?’… No, I just couldn’t speak, so I thought, ‘Oh my God, what should I do? I guess I can’t speak. I guess I’m really becoming mute…’ My life is just over, it’s over. If I can’t speak, isn’t it completely over now?” (P10, F/72, 3 days after onset)
“It was the day I disappeared. The day I disappeared. Why am I here? Why am I alive? The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘How can I, who can’t speak, live? How could I live without speaking?’ My children were young, so I worried about finances. I felt lost, afraid of becoming a burden to them. Would my family have to support me? Why am I even here? I was out of my mind.” (P1, F/51, 8 days after onset)
“I wanted to tell them to take me to the bathroom because I needed to go, but the words wouldn’t come out. They just wouldn’t come out of my mouth. I kept saying it inside myself… but there was no one there, and I just ended up peeing. I kept trying to say, ‘I want to go to the bathroom, I want to go to the bathroom,’ but no one understood. I struggled so much, no matter how hard I tried. I really needed to go, but they didn’t take me… What should I say? I had already wet myself when I came in the ambulance, and it happened here at the hospital too. What should I say about this? I really wanted to say something, but I couldn’t… nothing came out.” (P7, F/81, 2 days after onset)
“The levin tube… was really mean. He just put it in without my consent. The tube went from my nose all the way down my throat, and it was so painful. If he had explained it to me in advance, I would have understood… But he just slammed the tube in without any explanation. That’s why I felt so bad. It was really bad.” (P8, M/64, 15 days after onset)
“When they talk to me, they act like I’m stupid or a baby… so it feels a little negative. I’m just an ordinary person, but they treat me like I’m stupid or a baby… so it feels a little frustrating.” (P2, M/49, 2 days after onset)
“The nurse kept talking to me, and I was a little annoyed. I wanted to talk but I couldn’t, so it was annoying… No, it wasn’t that bad. I just got annoyed because I couldn’t speak, but she kept making me talk…” (P12, M/74, 5 days after onset)
“There was no inconvenience. The doctors and nurses all waited patiently for me to speak. I found that incredibly kind. They said, ‘It’s okay. If you have anything to say, we’ll wait, so please speak slowly,’ and I was able to speak comfortably.” (P6, M/35, 3 days after onset)
“I couldn’t speak, but the nurses did everything for me. They took care of everything… Even when I was lying down like this, they changed my clothes. If my clothes rode up, they pulled them down for me. If my position was uncomfortable, they even turned me to the side.” (P9, F/63, 6 days after onset)
“When I heard that there was a problem, the only feedback that mattered was whether it would get better. I was really grateful when the doctor said it would get better, and I was thankful at that time (crying)…” (P6, M/35, 3 days after onset)
“The effort to help me understand what I didn’t understand—trying to explain it step by step while mimicking it—was tremendous effort. I don’t think there’s anything more helpful to the patient than that. In my opinion, being there for the patient is the most important thing.” (P13, M/67, 3 days after onset)
“I was trying to speak… and the words just came out. Oh my, I’m talking. The words just came out without me knowing. It wasn’t as clear as this, but my voice was still there.” (P10, F/72, 3 days after onset)
“When I swear, it comes out incredibly well. But I can’t even pronounce my own name properly.” (P6, M/35, 3 days after onset)
“So, when I’m on the phone, I have to say my name, and here (pointing to his head) it makes sense, but it doesn’t come out of my mouth, so I practice on my own… The name is the same, but the actual pronunciation is different every time. I’ve also tried saying other people’s names on my own. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t work well.” (P13, M/67, 3 days after onset)
“At first, I was so scared… but now that I can speak a little… I think things will get better. I’ll be okay.” (P2, M/49, 2 days after onset)
Conflicts of Interest
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Acknowledgements
None.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2022R1A2C1011917). The funding source had no role in the study design, analysis, data interpretation, or decision to submit for publication.
Data Sharing Statement
Please contact the corresponding author for data availability.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization or/and Methodology: JK, HH. Data curation or/and Analysis: JK, HH. Funding acquisition: JK. Investigation: HH. Project administration or/and Supervision: JK. Resources or/and Software: JK, HH. Validation: JK, HH. Visualization: JK, HH. Writing: original draft or/and Review & Editing: JK, HH. Final approval of the manuscript: all authors.
| No. | Gender/age (yr) | Diagnosis | Type of aphasia | Days from onset (day)a) | Residual language impairments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F/51 | Lt. MCA infarction | Motor aphasia | 8 | Present |
| 2 | M/49 | Lt. MCA infarction | Sensory aphasia | 2 | Present |
| 3 | M/48 | Lt. MCA infarction | Motor aphasia | 40 | Present |
| 4 | F/78 | Lt. MCA infarction | Global aphasia | 4 | Absent |
| 5 | F/39 | Transient ischemic attack | Motor aphasia | 2 | Absent |
| 6 | M/35 | Rt. MCA infarction | Motor aphasia | 3 | Absent |
| 7 | F/81 | Lt. MCA infarction | Global aphasia | 2 | Present |
| 8 | M/64 | Multiple infarction | Motor aphasia | 15 | Present |
| 9 | F/63 | Lt. MCA infarction | Motor aphasia | 6 | Present |
| 10 | F/72 | Lt. MCA infarction | Global aphasia | 3 | Absent |
| 11 | M/62 | Lt. MCA infarction | Global aphasia | 4 | Present |
| 12 | M/74 | Lt. MCA infarction | Global aphasia | 5 | Present |
| 13 | M/67 | Lt. MCA infarction | Motor aphasia | 3 | Present |
| 14 | M/56 | Rt. cortical ICH | Sensory aphasia | 7 | Present |
| Theme | Category | Sub-category | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication beyond language | Suddenly trapped in silence | Words stuck in the mouth | Clear words in mind |
| Speech flow blocked | |||
| Distorted speech output | |||
| Altered sensation in the lips | |||
| Loss of meaning in language | Speech perceived as meaningless sounds | ||
| Unable to understand even my own speech | |||
| Only lip movements perceived | |||
| Inability to read written text | |||
| Emotional impact | Psychological shock | Unexpectedness | |
| Confusion | |||
| Fear | |||
| A sense of life-ending despair | |||
| Feeling lost | Uncertainty about the future | ||
| Worries about making a living | |||
| Concerns about family | |||
| Self-pity | |||
| Communication crisis | Difficulties in expression | Inability to express basic needs | |
| Inability to engage in small talk | |||
| Incomplete expression of intentions | |||
| Misunderstandings | |||
| Exclusion from decision-making | Decisions discussed solely with caregivers | ||
| Being treated like a child | |||
| Reluctance and withdrawal | Speaking feels exhausting | ||
| Reluctance to speak | |||
| Giving up on speaking | |||
| Patient centered interaction | Supportive communication | Encouraged to speak slowly | |
| Being listened to patiently | |||
| Facilitating speech | |||
| Empathic care | Showing attentive concern | ||
| Providing anticipatory assistance | |||
| Instilling hope for recovery | |||
| Active engagement | Initiating interaction | ||
| Making efforts to sustain conversation | |||
| Emerging hope | Gradual but inconsistent recovery | Words suddenly come out and are heard | |
| Fluctuating speech ability | |||
| Different pace of recovery for words | |||
| Still clumsy speech | |||
| Self-directed efforts | Alternative communication | ||
| Speech practice | |||
| Reading and writing practice | |||
| Anticipation of recovery | Relief | ||
| From fear to hope |
F, female; ICH, intracerebral hemorrhage; Lt., left; M, male; MCA, middle cerebral artery; Rt., right. a)At the time of the interview.
