Update: Where I'm At.

As you may know... or may not know, I haven't really said much about the stroke. I like that fact, but there are still things I don't/can't do as good as I used to. One new thing I've started doing is balancing on one foot while in the shower while I scrub the other. That sounds pretty mundane doesn't it? but if you think about what is involved, it is actually quite complex. Balance, wash, all while being pelted with water, like I said mundane, but complex.

I still don't have the feeling that my right arm is 100%, I don't know if I'll ever get it all back. Handwriting is most affected by this. The funny thing is the doctor showed me how if I take my thumb and pointer finger and pinch them together rapidly again and again, eventually either my left hand will slow down, or my right hand will speed up. There is a name for that, but what it is escapes me right now. It has to do with making everything the same.

I still have language apraxia, which basically means I know what I want to say, but there is a problem with forming the words. I'm getting better at find the right words to say, but it can be distracting, especially when I need to say something quick. Aphasia comes in to the picture. They are both intertwined, but I can say that they are likely the least of my worries at this point. Not that any of this is really a worry, but if it was, that would be toward the back of the line.

My face, well that is just a lost cause. Thankfully, not that many people have to look at it. Really I'm kidding, sorta, there is nothing I can do, or nothing that I'm willing to pay money for to make better, so I've got what I've got. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do get a little upset from people who are in my own family who have grown tired of the "I had a stroke" deal. I cannot play the Wii Fit to save my life, and just thinking of the game makes my blood pressure go through the roof.

And on to work, you know I see people that are affected by what I went through everyday. I wish I could talk to them, say that it will be ok, that these people will help you get better. Besides being unethical I just can't look at a patient's chart and figure he needs me to talk to him/her. It just doesn't work that way. Besides that, I'm not in patient care, and I can't talk very well (see above). But I see them, and I know that they are going to be cared for, just not by me, maybe they should tell me thanks eh?