Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope everyone has a great day celebrating with your family and friends tomorrow.  I'm not sure what plans Mom and Dad have, though I suspect dinner with Aunt Jean will be involved.

Last weekend Mom and Dad got away to see BJ and Heather for the weekend.  That was a nice change for everyone, since it's usually BJ and Heather who make the 4 hour drive to see Mom and Dad.  I hear they had a nice time, and got to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob before they headed back to Maine.

One thing they got to experience was the pottery studio BJ and Heather frequent.  They've both really gotten into making their own pottery pieces, and Mom and Dad went along and tried their hand at it as well.  Here are a couple of pics of them in action:

After their weekend adventure, Dad had an appointment with the neuro-opthalmologist to be evaluated for cataract surgery.  The really good news is that his double vision is improving on its own!  And the doctor says his cataracts aren't bad enough to warrant surgery yet, so they'll see him in 6 months to see how he's doing.  Dad has been continuing his physical and speech therapy at the local wellness center.  He is still very frustrated by his inability to remember names of things, and that seems to put a damper on him having conversations with people.  Even with me on the phone, he gets flustered and I have a hard time understanding what he's trying to say, and then he passes the phone to someone else.  He's such a talker, I can imagine how tough this has been for him.  But, we still have a long way to go in his recovery.  Tomorrow marks 5 months since the stroke, and he has come a long way since that day in October.  His PT is working on strengthening his legs, so he's walking better and better.  And the more he keeps with the speech therapy, the better his memory will get.

Again I want to thank everyone for their concern and prayers for Dad.  Please keep praying that he continues to make great strides in his recovery.  We all want to see him back to his old self!

3/22 update

Hi everyone -

Sorry for the late update. I actually don't have much to report. With all their company, it's been tough to talk to Mom or Dad these last two weeks.  I do know Dad likes his new speech and physical therapists, so that's going well.  Mom and Dad are currently on their way to BJ and Heather's for the weekend.  They'll also see Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob sometime over the course of the weekend since they're still in Cocoa Beach.  On Tuesday, Dad will be evaluated for cataract surgery, and I hear he's looking forward to it.

That's all I know at the moment. If I hear anything new, I'll post again.

Have a nice weekend!

3/8 update

Happy Friday all!

Well, I hope the weather where you are is better than it is here.  The local weather peeps said the Boston area wasn't going to get all that much snow, but the foot I shoveled when I got home from work sure felt like a lot!

Dad is having a good week.  I understand he had lunch with some of his cousins earlier this week.  And Mom's sister, Fran, arrived on Tuesday for a visit.  Sounds like everyone has been enjoying themselves so far.  Today Dad started outpatient speech and physical therapy at the local wellness center.  He seems to like the therapists he'll be seeing.  Some good news on the physical therapy front was that he had his left shoulder x-rayed, and they don't see any tear or damage to his rotator cuff.  He's had shoulder pain for a long time and tried to ignore it.  They started working on it when he had PT to help him get stronger walking, and thought he may have torn the rotator cuff in the past.  But it looks like it's just arthritis.  Good to know it's not really damaged, but I don't know how much they'll be able to do about the arthritis.  Maybe with some anti-inflammatories they can get it moving a little better.  It's been a bit of a problem since his right side does have some weakness, so he's been relying on his left arm and leg more.

For his speech therapy, Mom sat in and listened to his session to get an idea of how we can best help Dad when he's not at therapy.  I don't remember if I wrote it last time, but his neurologist says he has anomic aphasisa.  Here's a link to a wikipedia article about it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomic_aphasia

So, basically he can usually look at an item and tell you what it does or what it's used for, but he can't find the name.  It's seems to be similar with people.  He knows who people are, but he can't put the right name with the face.  The other day I heard him telling Mom that the dog wanted some mosquitoes.  I'm fairly certain he meant treats, but I have no idea where mosquitoes came from.  Sometimes it sort of makes sense; the word he comes up with can be related to what he's trying to say, but it's just a little off.  Other times, like the mosquito reference, he's way off.  He probably saw a mosquito and the word got stuck in his head.  Overall, he can usually get his point across, but sometimes he gets pretty frustrated.  I can only imagine how hard it must be to know what you want to say but not be able to say it.

Aunt Fran was nice enough to take a picture of Mom and Dad for you all.  This is from earlier today, while they were all enjoying an afternoon by the pool:

Wish I could have been there to take it myself instead of having to shovel!

Have a great weekend!

3/2 update

Hi everyone -

I spoke with Mom a little while ago and got an update.  Earlier this week, Dad had an appointment with his new primary care physician. She wrote the orders for Dad to have continued physical and speech therapy.  This coming Friday he will begin seeing therapists at the wellness center not far from Mom and Dad's condo. Dad has had a problem with his left shoulder for quite some time. It sounds like the PT will be working on that, as well as helping him get stronger and able to walk better.  He also saw his neurologist for the first time this week.  This doctor was the first to see him in the emergency room the day of the stroke.  As far as I know, this is the first time he's seen Dad since he left the ICU.  He thinks Dad is doing great!

Mom made an appointment for later this month for Dad to be evaluated for cataract surgery.  Dad is still considering whether or not he wants to do it, but the reality is that his vision will not improve unless he gets it done.  He has told me he can focus on one person or object in the room, but it takes a lot of effort.  And if there is any movement, he loses the focus.  So, watching TV and just generally looking around is not so easy.  The neuro-opthalmologist says Dad may still have some double vision after the surgery, but at that point they could help that with special glasses that have prisms in them.

Dad has been having lunch most weeks with some local car enthusiasts.  And he's even going without Mom! That's a big step!  She's been dropping him off for a couple of hours, and he calls her when he's done.  It's great for both of them for Dad to be able to get out and do something somewhat independently.

Mom and Dad will be having a lot of company over the next couple of weeks.  Aunt Fran (Mom's twin sister, for those who don't know) will be heading down on Tuesday for two weeks.  And Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol (their brother and his wife) will also be coming to visit while Aunt Fran is there. I know Mom appreciates all of them coming down to see her and Dad.  Moving to a new place where you don't really know anyone is already tough without what Mom has been dealing with these last 4 months.

I still don't have any pictures for you.  Maybe when Aunt Fran is there she can get some of Mom and Dad together.  I'm sure they'll be out and about doing some fun things during her visit!

That's all for now....thanks for continuing to follow Dad's progress!  If you have his number, give him a call.  The more practice he has talking to people, the better!