Hello Team Barnes!

I haven't written to you for awhile.  Today marks 2 years since Stephen's most recent stroke on 3/21/22.  It seems like a good day to bring you good news!

Two years ago Stephen couldn't speak, read, or write.  He couldn't make sense of his world.  He couldn't function at all on his own.  We were all very afraid.

Fast forward to today.  His cognition, emotions, and wicked sense of humor are alive and well!  He can speak, read, and write...but very slowly.  He can manage his personal care.  He prepares his own breakfast, does some easy cooking, and supervises ME in cooking HIS recipes. (If you don't know, Stephen is an excellent cook and over our 36 years of marriage, I was happy to let him cook!)  He can stay alone for up to 6 hours.  He walks in our neighborhood by himself and recently, he has learned to use Waymo (Jaguar's self-driving car) to get around a little.

Stephen still goes to speech therapy at Barrow Neurological Institute and participates in 2 patient groups at Barrow.  He attends an online Mindfulness for Aphasia group.  He sings in an online Aphasia Choir.  He is still on the Endowment Board of St. Mary's Food Bank and attends our church.  Plus he keeps up with about 2-3 hours daily of news through podcasts, PBS, etc.  He is a very intelligent guy, with strong opinions.  So...he has a lot to say (albeit slowly) about the news!

Shout outs go to the  doctors and therapists at Barrow, the National Aphasia Association and all their programs, the Mass General Hospital research team for their work in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and Caring Bridge for this venue to share our news.  Intense shout outs go to all of you family and friends reading this...and especially Stephanie Barnes who is wise beyond her years and a constant source of love and support.

I will leave you with one last thought.  Uncertainty haunts us.  After 4 strokes and a seizure in the past 7 years,  we struggle to remain sure-footed on rocky ground.  We have to regularly reset our thoughts from terror to trust.  We have deep faith that keeps us moving forward, and completely concur with the words of poet, Robert Frost, 'The best way out is always through.' 

Stay tuned for more good news!

Love,

Kathie