My New Philosophy

“We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”

~Charles R. Swindoll

Emotions

The emotional upheaval is rather unbearable. The anger is intolerable. Melancholy seems to rule my days; I'm on Wellbutrin and BuSpar--I can't imagine how I'd be without them. The crying attacks in public seem to have backed off but, then, I haven't been in public much. What was it that made me fight so hard to live? I seem to have lost the ability to predict how people will act; the rose-colored glasses are off and shattered. I don't know how to live with people. It doesn't help that the stroke followed a bad breakup. It all made me realize that the man I moved across the country with wasn't the man I thought
he was. I realized a lot of people that aren't who I thought they were. And a bunch who suprised me.

Image from the Backgrounds app for the iPhone.

Aphasia

Simply defined, aphasia is the loss of ability to communicate normally resulting from damage to the left side of the brain, the center of communication. It may affect a person’s speech and comprehension as well as the ability to read, write or deal with numbers. Intelligence is not lowered, although the inability to communicate may leave the impression that the affected person is less intelligent than he or she actually is.

Different Types of Aphasia

Anomic Aphasia
Speech is normal, but there is difficulty in naming even common objects or places.

Conduction Aphasia
Trouble occurs in repeating anything said by another person, but speech remains somewhat normal.

Expressive Aphasia (Broca’s Aphasia)
Everything is heard and understood, but there is a lack of ability to express thoughts. In some cases, the person may be capable of repeating single words, or even uttering obscenities when angry.

Fluent Aphasia
Though speech may be normal or rapid, incorrect words or sounds are substituted without the person realizing it. The person may say “dog” when they mean “horse”, or “may” instead of “hey,” not realizing even after the words are spoken that they are inaccurate choices.

Global Aphasia
As the term indicates, there is great difficulty with all language functions – comprehension or understanding, reading, talking, or even repeating what is heard. It is as though the person is transported to a planet where he or she lacks even the most basic understanding of how to communicate with the local residents.

Nonfluent Aphasia
Speech is slow and difficult, and in the desperate attempt to talk, is often used with hand and face gestures. Sentences may have words or parts of words missing.

Receptive Aphasia (Wernicke’s Aphasia)
Sounds are heard, but with no understanding of what they mean. The person can neither
understand nor monitor his or her own speech.

Copied from the Stroke Recovery Guide, published by the National Stroke Association.

Initially, I suffered from expressive aphasia; I understood everything said to me but my speech was gibberish. It took me about three months to get to the point where most people could understand me. I still have trouble if I'm laying down because I don't have the breath support, and I have to pause regularly to catch my breath. I also have difficulty if I become emotional: my voice becomes incredibly nasal and people can't understand me. Also, once the other cleared up, I had more trouble with using the wrong word or messing up the word order (especially if I'm tired). I won't dissemble: this scares the crap out of me, especially because it seems to be getting worse. I guess this would be another form of  asphasia, but why now, seven months later?


More info on aphasia.

Diet

So, I've been scared straight. I'm going on a diet. I'm on day 5. I'm also attempting to motivate myself to work out regularly. I've GOT to get back to the treadmill. Even if it kills me. I'm sticking with 10 min at 2 for now...it sounds pathetic but it wears me out! I also need to do the reformer band exercise video...it really helps the core and is all floor work so perfect! I figured I would come to terms with the diet first.


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Prevent A Brain Stem Stroke | LIVESTRONG.COM

Prevent A Brain Stem Stroke | LIVESTRONG.COM

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity."

           —John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963), Speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959

from Laura Moncur's Motivational Quotations

Symptoms

What are the symptoms of stroke?
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes these major signs of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arms, or legs
• Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding others
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

All of the major symptoms of stroke appear suddenly, and often there is more than one symptom at the same time.

Copied from the CDC.