Good News Bad News
First, the bad news. Mom is home, and is doing OK physically, but she is not able still to talk, or read, or write, and she is very frustrated by this. My father is taking it so to heart, and Mr. "I can take care of this" is very distressed at his helplessness.
I hope that the speech therapists can at least work with her on mitigating the effects of this. Her mental function is not at all impaired - she can still think and understand and respond appropriately; she just has no way to express her thoughts.
She resumes therap(ies) Tuesday.
The good news is that we finally got our remodel of our family room done. It was a sunken floor, and we had it filled in with concrete. We (meaning DH and Older Son) painted the walls a lighted shaded orange (it's really nice!). The french doors in back have a terra cotta ceramic tile walk off in front of them and the carpet is a light brown with gold undertones. It's beautiful. It now looks like a room you'd want to be in, instead of a grungy place that needs help. Help has arrived, and I couldn't be happier about it.
I hope that the speech therapists can at least work with her on mitigating the effects of this. Her mental function is not at all impaired - she can still think and understand and respond appropriately; she just has no way to express her thoughts.
She resumes therap(ies) Tuesday.
The good news is that we finally got our remodel of our family room done. It was a sunken floor, and we had it filled in with concrete. We (meaning DH and Older Son) painted the walls a lighted shaded orange (it's really nice!). The french doors in back have a terra cotta ceramic tile walk off in front of them and the carpet is a light brown with gold undertones. It's beautiful. It now looks like a room you'd want to be in, instead of a grungy place that needs help. Help has arrived, and I couldn't be happier about it.
4 Comments:
so sorry about your mom ann. i went thru that with my mom after she had several strokes. it made her very angry when she could not communicate. does your mom have a picture board that she can point to or is she not able to make that connection between thought and picture.
understand you dads frustration. the man of the house is supposed to be the pillar of strength. sometimes they forget they are human just like the rest of us. is can be terrably freightening to have things beyond our control. does he have friends/family who can come in to help ?
when does the speech therapy start ?
congrats on the room. sounds really cheery. bet you are glad to have big son home for the summer.
We're re-doing our "front" room to be more family-room-ish. It's turning out very cozy and charming and lifts my spirit immeasurably. Were I you, I might feel a little guilty about that in light of the terribly tragic situation your parents are in. I advise you to accept the comfort your beautiful room give you. I WOULD KILL FOR FRENCH DOORS!
I worry a lot about having a stroke, I've had a TIA, at least one, and my cholesterol etc. are pretty high. That being said, Bill and I have already worked out a communication system.
My first husband's mother, my beloved mother-in-law, had a stroke before we ever married, she was in her fifties, I believe. It stuck with me strongly. They can think quite clearly, your mother is in there, Ann.
Not being able to communicate has to be extremely frustrating and stressful and fearful for her. I sympathize with your dad, but I empathize with your mom.
She may sound like she's lost some brain cells, but she's pretty surely thinking smartly (she may be cussing a lot :).
That room sounds dreamy. I see it as a monument to some nice father-son bonding hours.
I sense that if your dad could maybe understand the biggest frustrating thing is his own frustration, and that your mom will be fine, then everyone else could maybe relax and celebrate the small steps forward together. But then you know me -- I don't have the beginning of a clue about what everyone is dealing with.
You need to send your crew over to my house. OTOH, I've grown accustomed to the crayon scribblings all over the house.
Best of luck with your mom. My mother evidently remains delusional, but she's doing well physically.
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