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Learning to Be His Voice
This is a long post. It's about yesterday and today. It's about happy times and big cries. So pull up a chair and grab a coffee. Yesterday morning started off peaceful. John's nephew Derek showed up early with bagels and muscles, and mowed our lawn. Hooray!!!!! Huge, huge thank you!!! Afterward, he and John swam…
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Thursday & Friday: Small Steps, Big Progress
Thursday started with an appointment with John's primary care doctor. If I'm being honest, it wasn't the reassuring visit I had hoped for. The doctor seemed surprised by how profoundly the stroke has affected John's speech and tried to speak directly to him as though nothing had changed. At one point he wondered aloud how…
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First Outpatient Therapy, First Adventures, and Finding Our New Normal
Today was John's first full day home, and we started the morning with outpatient speech therapy. He met his new speech therapist, Saskia, and we both came away impressed. She worked through a variety of exercises, some of which were familiar from inpatient rehab. She also explained that John is dealing with both aphasia and…
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Coming Home Today
Today is the day. John comes home. 🏠🏠🏠 If all goes well, we should be home by around noon, and I'll share some pictures once we're settled. So many people have asked how they can help. The truth is, I don't know yet. Today I'll be learning his medications, his diet, his follow-up appointments, and…
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Home Sweet Home
John is home. ❤️ We made it home safe and sound today, but not before making one very important stop. The first thing John wrote when I arrived to pick him up was, “McDonald’s Big Mac.” So of course, that’s exactly where we went. When we got home, the very first thing John did was…
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Happy 50th Birthday
Today is my 50th birthday. It wasn't the way I ever imagined celebrating this milestone. But the greatest gift I have is that I still have John by my side. We may not have words right now, but somehow we still understand each other. There is no greater gift than that. I didn't want a…
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A Surprise Visit
I know I already shared these photos on Facebook, but I wanted to keep them here too, for posterity. This afternoon, I made an impulsive decision to load up the dogs and surprise John. He has been missing his babies so much. I had also forgotten to bring home his dirty laundry, so it felt…
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Looking Forward to Home
Today was good day. I visited John around lunchtime, and he proudly showed me some of the drawings he's been making of our yard and pool. He's VERY excited about laying in the hammock. He also sketched Franklin and Nonnie and we laughed at Nonnie's nose. He's never been interested in drawing before; it's amazing…
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Small Victories, Big Feelings
I spent the morning with John today and got there early enough to find that he had already made himself eggs for breakfast. He was proud, but not pleased. I think he prefers making eggs at home 😀 I was also able to sit in on one of his speech therapy sessions. Today's exercises focused…
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Today was a really good day.
John and I started the morning by taking a walk outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was a simple outing, but it felt wonderful to get some fresh air together. Later in the day, after I went back to work, he was surrounded by family. His niece Ashley and nephew Derek came to visit,…
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