Journal entry by Jessica Quison-Kress —
Good morning y'all! I hope everyone has settled into the new school year and/or beginning of Fall! We're still live and well here in Greensboro. I thought I'd update a few of our websites, links and pages as well as give a brief update on Jim's recovery.
He's doing great! We're still participating twice a week at Cone Health Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Center. All therapists love him and are eager to see him continue to improve. They've been very helpful to rid everything associated with the stroke or what they refer to "sickness" so that he can return to a normal way of life.
I'm proud to say he's graduated to a cane and can walk up our flight of steps to get to the master bathroom shower where I've set up a portable shower seat and hand-held showerhead. The first time in there, he must've spent a good 30 minutes! Afterward, he laid down on our bed and napped. You might think I'm silly but it felt so good for the both of us to relax in our own bed and not that hospital bed set up in the dining room. Have you ever been so in love with your bed and pillow, you feel like there's nothing else in this world that feels so good? I digress. LOL
Jim's speech is slow to return. We've been told by his speech pathologist that it'll be one of the last things to come back. However, we must not expect it to fully return because of the severity and location of the stroke. Well, to that I say, fooey! God has brought him through this this far so just you wait! Another issue discovered is his motor planning or more specifically a neurological condition call Apraxia. Apraxia is a disorder. The brain has difficulty directing or coordinating muscle movements to his mouth so therefore his speech is affected to the degree that what we'd find easy to sound out or say, it's quite difficult for Jim to get the words out. He's also having a difficult time with recall, texting, typing and writing words. What I have been able to figure out from him is that he knows what he wants to say, he can hear the words in his head but he simply can't get it out.
I can't tell you how much I'm saddened by the aphasia and apraxia because we're all too familiar with how well Jim speaks and articulate he use to be with getting his point across. Now, we just resort to playing 20 questions with a good amount of frustration by the time we realize what he's wanting or needing.
Just recently we visited the vascular doctor. Upon closer review of the tests Jim has had over the last 10 months, one more was done. It was concluded that he has a genetic blood clotting disorder. The doctor recommends he be on blood thinning medicine for the rest of his life and to always wear compression stockings so as to prevent blood pooling in his calves and feet.
All in all, this is an overall report of what's been happening so far post stroke. I leave you with this, Jim still has a very positive attitude about the whole situation. He's motivated to keep pressing forward. Some days are good, other days he tends to sleep a lot and not want to get out of bed. I'll continue to be his support and cheerleader. For those who often find themselves pondering many life questions like I do, here's a tidbit of what keeps churning in my mind. Each day as I caregive for Jim, I keep reminding him of how our life needs to keep moving forward despite the circumstances. I've accepted that this is just a season and there's so much more to see and do; rest in what is, the stroke was meant to guide us abruptly into a different direction so don't let the stroke define you. It is up to him to seek the meaning of it, learn the life lesson and choose to live in peace and contentment while paying it forward for others who might be in the same situation and may not have the hope in their life. God bless you all with love, peace and prosperity always. Thank you for your love and support! Please continue to follow us on social media and if you feel led to give again, we appreciate every single gift - big or small.
Strokewife Instagram Page
Jim's GoFundMe Page
Stroke of Luck Facebook Page
He's doing great! We're still participating twice a week at Cone Health Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Center. All therapists love him and are eager to see him continue to improve. They've been very helpful to rid everything associated with the stroke or what they refer to "sickness" so that he can return to a normal way of life.
I'm proud to say he's graduated to a cane and can walk up our flight of steps to get to the master bathroom shower where I've set up a portable shower seat and hand-held showerhead. The first time in there, he must've spent a good 30 minutes! Afterward, he laid down on our bed and napped. You might think I'm silly but it felt so good for the both of us to relax in our own bed and not that hospital bed set up in the dining room. Have you ever been so in love with your bed and pillow, you feel like there's nothing else in this world that feels so good? I digress. LOL
Jim's speech is slow to return. We've been told by his speech pathologist that it'll be one of the last things to come back. However, we must not expect it to fully return because of the severity and location of the stroke. Well, to that I say, fooey! God has brought him through this this far so just you wait! Another issue discovered is his motor planning or more specifically a neurological condition call Apraxia. Apraxia is a disorder. The brain has difficulty directing or coordinating muscle movements to his mouth so therefore his speech is affected to the degree that what we'd find easy to sound out or say, it's quite difficult for Jim to get the words out. He's also having a difficult time with recall, texting, typing and writing words. What I have been able to figure out from him is that he knows what he wants to say, he can hear the words in his head but he simply can't get it out.
I can't tell you how much I'm saddened by the aphasia and apraxia because we're all too familiar with how well Jim speaks and articulate he use to be with getting his point across. Now, we just resort to playing 20 questions with a good amount of frustration by the time we realize what he's wanting or needing.
Just recently we visited the vascular doctor. Upon closer review of the tests Jim has had over the last 10 months, one more was done. It was concluded that he has a genetic blood clotting disorder. The doctor recommends he be on blood thinning medicine for the rest of his life and to always wear compression stockings so as to prevent blood pooling in his calves and feet.
All in all, this is an overall report of what's been happening so far post stroke. I leave you with this, Jim still has a very positive attitude about the whole situation. He's motivated to keep pressing forward. Some days are good, other days he tends to sleep a lot and not want to get out of bed. I'll continue to be his support and cheerleader. For those who often find themselves pondering many life questions like I do, here's a tidbit of what keeps churning in my mind. Each day as I caregive for Jim, I keep reminding him of how our life needs to keep moving forward despite the circumstances. I've accepted that this is just a season and there's so much more to see and do; rest in what is, the stroke was meant to guide us abruptly into a different direction so don't let the stroke define you. It is up to him to seek the meaning of it, learn the life lesson and choose to live in peace and contentment while paying it forward for others who might be in the same situation and may not have the hope in their life. God bless you all with love, peace and prosperity always. Thank you for your love and support! Please continue to follow us on social media and if you feel led to give again, we appreciate every single gift - big or small.
Strokewife Instagram Page
Jim's GoFundMe Page
Stroke of Luck Facebook Page
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