Today is mom’s birthday and marks almost one year from her stroke. In that time she has progressed from not eating or speaking or walking to being able to do all those things, albeit in a limited way. As we know, words make up a very small part of communication and we are so very thankful that mom can understand us. She is able to indicate so much through tone and gestures that it’s getting easier and easier to communicate. She is walking well with the walker and I’m encouraging her to walk more without it as long as I’m at her side to make sure it’s safe. We want her to feel confident walking even while she uses the walker. I’ve also been encouraging her to try more stairs and she has taken the challenge as you would expect-like a champ. She’s able to do more than just a couple stairs now as long as you’re there for support. We walked up and down the election office stairs in the picture attached, and she did great. 

Mom has really enjoyed the spring weather and all its splendors. We have taken multiple walks around the neighborhood, with her leading each one a little bit longer than the last. She points out flowers or other interesting or pleasant sights and basks in the sun and warmth as much as possible. We’ve had multiple gatherings at home - a friends’ joint birthday celebration at her dining table, Mother’s Day, etc. The top of her piano is full of cards and we’ve been keeping a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the season. 

We do have an unfortunate update that mom awoke this morning to another small seizure. This was her second seizure in about 7 months. Individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injuries are more likely to have seizures. We’re not overly concerned but she did have another seizure while in the hospital room so they decided to keep her here overnight. The Foster Home Staff were immediately responsive this morning and the hospital tests will provide more information. We expect mom to come out of this fine, it just comes as a shock because she seems to have been doing exceptionally well lately. She’s more self-determined, is able to track multiple conversations when family/friends are around and has been more robust in her verbal responses, like saying “I don’t know” at appropriate times. We will update here if anything unexpected happens but for now she’s just tired and, I’m sure, disappointed to spend her birthday in the hospital. On a brighter note, we got mom an “Aura Frame” for her BD and she has really enjoyed the various pictures circulating in the new digital frame, as friends and family across the world add content.