Back in the saddle again
The day after my last blog post, I left for nine days in Ohio. I worked, attended a company summer shindig, worked, hung out with my daughter and grandkids, worked, and stayed with my parents. It was a nice trip, but one that left very little time for blogging.
By the end of the work day, I was always pretty strung out. I have a lot on my plate at work, and it's requiring a lot of balancing to keep stuff from slopping off the edges. I am probably more "high strung" about work things than is reasonable, but I was out of work for so long, and this is SUCH a good gig, that I am (understandably) pretty intense about it.
I found that I wasn't even interested in READING much on the internet - at least, not the stuff I usually did. Before I left on the trip, I had whiled away a couple of hours on a couple of Saturday nights reading the plot summaries to every episode of Dark Shadows. A fun internet diversion for me during my trip was reading up on Jonathan Frid, the actor who played the vampire Barnabas and propelled the show to cult hit status.
Mostly, though, I read magazines and hung out with the family.
My mom is doing very well physically. She is still not able to speak. I had thought her problem was aphasia, but she has been diagnosed with apraxia of speech. She is able to say things spontaneously, that don't require thought. She can count, sing, and swear when she's annoyed. Phrases will sometimes come out really clearly when she isn't thinking about what to say. However, she is not able to express ideas or thoughts.
My daughter says that Mom is really lonely. It's like trying to live life in one long surreal game of charades.
While some recovery is possible, she is going to have to work really hard at it. I hope she has it in her.
By the end of the work day, I was always pretty strung out. I have a lot on my plate at work, and it's requiring a lot of balancing to keep stuff from slopping off the edges. I am probably more "high strung" about work things than is reasonable, but I was out of work for so long, and this is SUCH a good gig, that I am (understandably) pretty intense about it.
I found that I wasn't even interested in READING much on the internet - at least, not the stuff I usually did. Before I left on the trip, I had whiled away a couple of hours on a couple of Saturday nights reading the plot summaries to every episode of Dark Shadows. A fun internet diversion for me during my trip was reading up on Jonathan Frid, the actor who played the vampire Barnabas and propelled the show to cult hit status.
Mostly, though, I read magazines and hung out with the family.
My mom is doing very well physically. She is still not able to speak. I had thought her problem was aphasia, but she has been diagnosed with apraxia of speech. She is able to say things spontaneously, that don't require thought. She can count, sing, and swear when she's annoyed. Phrases will sometimes come out really clearly when she isn't thinking about what to say. However, she is not able to express ideas or thoughts.
My daughter says that Mom is really lonely. It's like trying to live life in one long surreal game of charades.
While some recovery is possible, she is going to have to work really hard at it. I hope she has it in her.
5 Comments:
Have you tried communicating with her by yes and no? Bill and I figured out a way where he would point to a letter and I would blink my eyes yes or no. I bet your mom can spell. It might be tedious, but it would allow her to communicate some of her feelings.
What she's expressing verbally isn't how she thinks. She's thinking as clearly as you or I. It's getting it out that's hard.
Yes! I've read about that approach too, annegb.
Well, Ann -- it's so great you have an absorbing job. I'm envious.
Oh mom. sorry.
Mom is in speech therapy twice a week and practices pretty regularly when she thinks nobody is looking.
Next time I go back, I'm going to try to see if I can visit with the speech therapist and get some more concrete information about the prognosis and communication options.
She is totally fine cognitively. That's what's so frustrating for her.
Hopefully your mom will get her speech back, but, if not, you might want to try something like PECS (picture exchange) for basic needs, in combination with a blackboard or something for more complex thoughts.
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