A Busy Day

Today was special because Debbie came to visit from California. She spent the day with him and attended his therapy sessions and participated in some of the games and discussions throughout the day. I showed up later in the the afternoon/early evening with my kids and we all spent time together hanging out with Bob in the sun room at the end of the hallway. It was a mini family reunion and everyone was in good spirits. Bob was very happy to see Debbie. She is returning tomorrow to spend another full day with Bob before her evening flight. I took this photo while Bob was playing another card from that traffic solitaire game (which he beat!):

Today Bob had five therapy sessions. Besides the newly added speech group therapy, now Bob also has occupational group therapy. In this new occupational group therapy Bob plays games that develop his motor and visual coordination, sharpen his focus and strengthen his muscles. It is a valuable experience for Bob to interact with others who have had strokes and have different levels of aphasia. Today they played a game where each person held a cone and they had to balance a ball on top of the cone and move it from one hand to the other and from one person to the other.

For lunch, Debbie treated my mom to lobster rolls and the two of them ate with Bob at the dinning room on his floor. Bob spends most of his awake time on the wheel chair now, going to bed only for naps and night-time sleep.

At group speech therapy today Bob was using his "yes" and "no" cards to answer questions. Last weekend he wasn't too keen on using them but it seems that peer pressure has had an effect and seeing others use them might have persuaded him to do so. My mom noted that one other patient had the same writing tablet that Bob got from my cousin Cecilia. He copied Bob so once again we give props to Ciça and Claudio for such a thoughtful and admired gift.

During physical therapy Bob used the lokomat. It is doing 80% of the work for the right leg now. I am going to try to sneak in before visiting hours on thursday to see him on the lokomat. I'll post pictures if I end up making it. I was told Bob has been cursing at Dan, his physical therapist! He says the word (stop reading this out loud if you are reading to a kid!) "fuck" quite well when he gets frustrated! Dan came into Bob's speech therapy session and was teasing him about it with the speech therapist...

Bob's speech therapist made him a sheet with a picture of a bed, a wheelchair and a bathroom. Debbie said Bob answered the therapist's questions correctly by pointing to the appropriate picture every time. For example, when asked "How did you get here?" Bob pointed to the wheelchair. Debbie also heard him say the word "up" four times when they were practicing opposites and singing "up and down". She said the "down" was hard, and he could only get a "d" sound out. This frustrated Bob because he knew that it wasn't quite right.

It's impossible to say for sure what Bob comprehends or how much he understands of his surroundings. Bob is in such good spirits, laughs easily and is in general in a great mood. It isn't unreasonable to wonder "Does he know what has happened to him?" or "Does he know the extent of the damage that the stroke has caused?" I'm often amazed to see how happy he is when I visit. Debbie and I joked today that he was happier than he used to be before the stroke. I don't want this to come across as callous but most people that know Bob know what a serious guy he was, he had a dry sense of humor. He would never have been described as jolly or chipper. I don't know where I'm going with this but I know I believe that he is committed to his recovery. Whether or not he sees how big the mountain is, I know he is willing to climb it and reach the top. I have no doubt whatsoever that Bob's understanding and comprehension is increasing with each day. Bob continues to be an example of dedication and hard work and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.