23

Sometimes I can’t come up with the right words. Yeah, it’s shocking, I know (insert sarcasm here). Many reading this may struggle with aphasia, while others either care for or know sometime who does. It is super frustrating because the word(s) that we want to say are in our heads but the connection between our head and our mouths isn’t working properly. People jokingly try to make me feel better when they forget words themselves and say things like “See, even I can’t come up with the right words

July

2018

19

I suffered a major stroke at 24 on Xmas day 2004 - a month after giving birth to my son. It took about a month for the doctors to realize there was something wrong with my vision. They kept doing the "wiggly finger test" I called it. When you cover one eye and they move their finger around and you have to say when you can see. I didn't understand the importance of this test or why they were doing it to me sometimes 3 times a day. They kept saying you will go back to normal in a few weeks. And

July

2018

16

A weird thing happened after right after my strokes. My memory would misfire and it was like a chunk of time had been erased. When people would ask me where I worked I’d tell them a job from 10 years ago instead of where I worked at the time. I vividly remember giving someone an old cell phone number - thankfully my husband overheard and corrected me. I hadn’t had that number for over 8 years. After returning home from rehab I remember walking into our garage and wondering who’s black Toyota

July

2018

15

I had a massive stroke back in 2015, and for the most part, I’ve recovered quite splendidly. People I meet for the first time nowadays can’t even tell I’m a stroke survivor.   But when I get tired (physically or mentally), things start to happen that remind me that not everything’s ticking along as it should up in the old noggin. I have trouble focusing and paying attention. My affected side drops. My speech slurs. I stutter. When I’m really, really tired, my affected side starts shaking a

July

2018

12

There are a lot of messed up things that come from a traumatic brain injury, and embarrassment is one of them. Everyone’s injury is -and will be- different, but from mine came a lot of embarrassing things. The first one was my bright blue helmet. I had to wear a helmet because my bone flap was removed due to brain swelling. I will never forget the first time I went out in public with my helmet on. I was walking through the mall and every single person who passed me gave me a look. I felt like a

July

2018