Aphasia Forums

Pete has been a bit grumpy these last 2 days - I don't know why but have an awful feeling we are going to hit the pain highway again sometime soon.  His appetite hasn't been as good as it was, it seems to me that we seem to get something sorted and then Pete (just to be contrary!!) brings it to the forefront again - I just can't understand what it is all about.

Meanwhile, we continue to bash away at language therapy, at least half an hour every day which seems to be enough as then he gets tired with it and struggles.  Some days it goes really well and he writes first letters quite quickly, other days, like today, he just can't seem to get the letters and can't distinguish the sounds and finds it hard.  The sounds continue to be a major problem and Pete gets so upset or angry when he can't make them, he just shakes his head, gets up and walks away.  

Yesterday was World Sroke Day when we try to make people aware of symptoms and when to act quickly.  Did you know that 1 person in 6 will have a stroke and it can happen to anyone of any age.  A frightening thought and, I must admit, I barely gave it a thought until it happened to Pete and devastated our lives.  Our problem was that, as Pete didn't display the normal major symptoms, no-one diagnosed a stroke until they had ruled out all other options.  I watch quite a few of these 'emergency' programmes on TV and when a stroke is even REMOTELY suspected, the A&E staff rush around trying to get the correct diagnosis and emergency treatment to prevent further brain damage - this certainly didn't happen when Pete was taken in, it was all very slow and seemed quite casual. He did have a scan which showed no bleed on the brain so, I ask myself now, why did no-one suspect a clot (which it was) and give the clot-busting injection which would have stopped all the major brain damage which occurred 3 days later.  But there, hindsight is a wonderful thing! 

Anyway, as it was World Stroke Day, on the twitter feeds I follow there were a few links to Aphasia Forums where survivors and carers could post questions and get answers from others in similar situations and just generally chat. Ideal I thought, this is where I need to be!  I read quite a few descriptions of problems and suggestions as to how to solve them - needless to say, no-one has the same level of aphasia as Pete.  Right, I need to register to join in the chats - easy, NOT!!!  I just couldn't get any site to complete the process!  It always started well but then just wouldn't continue to complete.  Now I'm not totally computer literate but, on the other hand, I am not a total idiot!  So what am I doing wrong?  Suffice to say, it seems I am definitely doomed to do this all on my own with no tips or chats from anyone else!!!  It certainly doesn't get any easier, probably harder.