Good News!!

Liz came back from buying some sheep feed with News of a Jack Russell puppy that was for sale, she sounded perfect. At the same time I had a phone call from the University offering me a place on the next aphasia session starting next week. I was really pleased about my offer but meant we couldn't take up the offer of the puppy. 

I'm looking forward to getting back to the University although nervous as the rest of the course will be new people. 

This news is good news for me learning to read and write, and the gap hasn't been being too long and I will have completed most of the homework that was given to me at the end of last term. 

The course runs for nine weeks and then we get four weeks off for Easter followed by another three weeks. Liz is pleased about this timing as we will be at home when the lambs are due to be born. 

My blog will continue during the next session of University work. 

Christmas 2013

We don't normally but this year we thought we would send a letter out with our Christmas cards to update people with my progress and also to let some people know what had been going on in our lives during 2013. It was lovely to receive messages of encouragement and support back from people, some had no idea I had had a stroke and we had visits, phone calls and letters from old friends. This really cheered me up.

John came home for Christmas and brought his dog Senna with him, it was lovely having a dog in the house again, she is so full of fun and energy.  Although her present opening technique needs to improve but she is young and in time will perfect this as Megan did (she was an expert).  We did have some snow on Christmas Eve and morning but it wasn't much and soon melted.

In the village there is a pub and a club (the smallest club in England).  We always used to go to the pub but unfortunately this year the landlady left and it was given to a manager until it could be sold.  This did not work out very well and the pub has now closed down.  We started going to the club occasionally on a Saturday evening.  

I like going to the club because it is a small room with a roaring fire, everyone has made me very welcome and speaks to me, usually it is one big conversation and we have a good laugh. Whereas at the pub I knew some people felt uncomfortable talking to me and would therefore avoid me - this hurts as I haven't changed inside!  I realise it is hard for some people and in the past I was probably just the same but if you ever encounter this situation take a leaf out of one friends book - Martin came over to me one night in the pub and said hello, he then said he was really sorry but just didn't know what to say to me, I explained I was just the same the only difference being it takes me longer to say things sometimes, after that we had a great chat and he always talks to me in the club now.

The main thing to remember about stokes and aphasia is it is not contagious and by talking to someone who has been affected you will not be infected!

The only thing on offer for me now are speech therapy group sessions and clubs for older or disabled people, this is not my idea of fun!  I need to interact and communicate with everyone.  Stroke victims need to be consulted on what they want rather than trying to fit us all into one box!  The future looks very bleak if that's all I have to look forward to!

The final lap

Just as I had got into the swing of university life and using the Quayside bus talk started about life after the course finished.

One event during the last few weeks was the other group of four ie Robin, Geoff, Bill and David went to a cafe and had to order their own food and drink.  They practised for this outing in the university coffee room first and then did it for real. I wish I had been the waiter!

Jean, Carl and Linda were all working on a leaflet/poster aimed at making people aware of Aphasia. I was left on my own to do my blog! 

The last 2 weeks of 1-1 sessions were taken up with with reading and learning and with assessments, we were assessed when we started and these latest ones were to see how we had progressed over the weeks.

On the last day my group of 4 ie Jean, Linda, Carl and me had to do a presentations of the work we had prepared,  to the other group, tutors and students and also invited family members.  In my case both Liz and my son John attended.  

Jean, Linda and Carl presented their leaflets and I had to do a presentation about my blog with my able assistant Laura.  I was very nervous doing this as it had been almost a year since I had done anything like this!  I think both Liz and John were pleased with me and John got a shock at how well I had progressed

The one message we all tried to get across was WE HAVE APHASIA WE ARE NOT STUPID

I then had to go and do yet more assessments before Nadine went  through how I had progressed with Liz, John and myself.  It was good to see I had improved although still a long way to go.

We were then treated to a lovely Buffet lunch and then the students had prepared a Christmas party with games and quizzes.  Our team was pleased to win 2 prizes - chocolate coins and chocolate sprouts! 

As a parting gift (!) I was given a folder containing lots of homework which the students had put together.

It was then time to leave and it was sad to say goodbye to the students and tutors and also to my fellow aphasia sufferers.

I would like to thank the tutors and students for helping me get this far and encouraging me to use my iPad more and to start this blog.  Hopefully I will meet some of them again.

Fiona (The Boss).  Me (pupil). Nadine (student)

Eight weeks into course

It was possible to see how everyone was progressing within the group.

In my own case I was starting to read and write which was something I couldn't do after my stroke. Progress is very slow and it is like being at infant school all over again, I can't for instance read a newspaper but was beginning to recognise some letters and words. On a bad day it all went to pot again!

With Robin he was starting to say good morning which was something he couldn't do before and was a great break through.

One of my best tricks with the students was telling them that I was too tired to work today so they would suggest we should do something simple, then I would laugh and say no let's get stuck into it. At times I had difficulty understanding one of the Irish students and with me having speech problems it could be a bit of a problem but we always got through it in the end.

In the large group sessions it was up to 2 of the students to lead the session and the other students would mix with the rest of us and take part in the exercises.  This was a good way of teaching and learning both for us and also for the students.

One of the things both the tutor and the students encouraged me to do was to start using my iPad more.  They taught me a number of things it could do to help me including reading out loud, so for example I could get it to read my emails (up to now Liz had had to read everything to me) it could also read the News and my twitter account which was great.

They also showed me how I could reply to emails and tweets using the speech function, at first the iPad couldn't understand me but gradually it has got used to how I speak.

They then suggested I started writing a blog, which is what you are reading now.  

Being partially sighted

As this is my blog I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about what it is like being partially sighted.  This is not meant to be seen as having a go at people because until it happened to me I certainly didn't realise how hard life can be.

My sight has been affected by my stroke and the right side of both eyes can't see anything. This means I only see the world on the left side and this can result in quite a few mishaps.

The worst one recently was when I walked into a lamppost in Newcastle, Liz turned back to find me giving the post a good telling off, don't know who was more shocked, Liz, the lamppost or the poor lad who was behind me.

One of the advantages of walking with a stick is people can see you have a problem, but I don't have a white stick.  Perhaps there should be a system of having a white band on a normal stick for people who have problems with their sight.

A few of the things partially sighted people have problems with are:-

Wheely bins left in the middle if the pavement

Cars parked on the pavement

Kids who leave bikes or skate boards lying around

People either talking in their mobile phones and oblivious to their surroundings or busy texting and not looking where they are going.

Liz and I tend to disagree about where she should walk when we are out, I like her to walk on my left side so I can see her but she thinks she should walk on my right hand side to stop me walking into lamp posts etc!  No doubt we continue to argue about this.

I now like to have my food put in the same place on my plate so I can find it (this was a tip I picked up from the Council sensory guy - Richard who came to see me)

I sometimes loose things like potatoes and vegetables off the right hand side of my plate as I push them off and don't see them,  Liz often asks if there is something wrong with that potato on the table.

When people come to visit I like them to sit on my left hand side so I can see them.

Often when I am reading or doing my aphasia exercises with Liz I miss the end of words and sentences as I just  don't see them. 

The hardest thing to come to terms with due to my sight problems is not being able to drive as I have always been into my cars and find this really hard to accept.

How Aphasia can affect people

Now four weeks into the course and I beginning to understand how aphasia affects the group of people I am with.

Geoff - had a slight speech impediment but physically he had recovered from his stroke and he was able to write, because of this he was always our scribe in group competitions.

Carl - like Geoff physically had recovered well, he was able to speak (a lot) but if you questioned him on certain things he sometimes struggled to answer and he couldn't read or write.

Jean - walked with the aid of a stick, she could read and write and could speak but had to speak very slowly and often got words wrong or couldn't find the word she wanted. But we helped her by waiting and encouraging her to find the words.

Linda - struggled with her walking and speech was difficult. But if you listened to her carefully you could usually understand what she was saying and if we didn't she was able to write it down.

David - walked with a limp and his right arm didn't work, he spoke slowly so he could be heard, on some occasions like Jean he would get stuck on certain words.

Bill - had slight problems with walking and with his right arm! but his main problem was his speech! he found this very difficult.

Robin - had problems with his right leg and no use in his right arm and he had speech problems, as the course progressed he seemed to get more confidence in the words he could use. He used to draw what he was trying to say, these drawings were brilliant.

Me - problem with right leg and no strength in right arm but gradually getting some movement, my speech is pretty good now and at the begining of the course I couldn't read or write.

This shows that with 8 people how a stroke can affect them all so differently and the lasting effects can take many forms.  We all have Aphasia and this has affected  how we communicate. However, we all agreed Aphasia affects our communication, it does not mean we are STUPID.

Working with the group of 8 was really beneficial as we all supported each other, for example we demonstrated the patience and time needed by people with aphasia to express themselves, we didn't rush people who were struggling to find words.  In group competitions we used the skills within the group to best advantage.  The tutors would not put you under pressure and helped you to find the answers within the group, this may mean we worked with each other to encourage someone who was struggling to find a word or express themselves.

You may have noticed that we are all affected on our right side by our strokes, this is because when the left side of the brain suffers a stroke, the right side of your body is affected.  Also the left side of the brain is responsible for speech and communication.  

The tutors who worked with us in the group sessions are remarkable and I can't thank them enough.

First week at "school"

1st October I started at the Aphasia Centre at Newcastle University on an 11 week course.

Liz and I travelled up to Newcastle on a Tuesday morning ready for the afternoon session, we then stayed at our flat Tuesday night for the Wednesday morning session.  We came home Wednesday afternoon and went back up to Newcastle Thursday afternoon to stay at the flat ready for the full day session on a Friday. 

Our flat is on the Quayside and Liz made me go on the Quayside bus up to Haymarket so that we could easily get to the King George VI building at the university.  Going on a bus is very alien to me as I haven't been on one since I was a child.

The other problem with being partially sighted, is avoiding students who walk around with their noses in their phones!  I can't tell you how Liz deals with them. 

I had no idea what to expect on the course and was feeling slightly nervous at my first session.

I met the other participants in the coffee lounge which is manned by volunteers who have been on previous courses and that really helped.  The others were Carl, Jean and Linda.

We went into the classroom and four more participants, who had just finished their individual sessions,

joined us.  These were Robin, Geoff, Bill and David.  We then had a full group session where we introduced ourselves. After the group session we had an individual one to one session with a student.

This was the format for the course, full group, small group and individual sessions.

I found the work to be hard but the students were really helpful and pushed me on which was really what I needed. The students I spent most time with were Lauren, Olga, Nadine and Laura (D)

During the group sessions we discussed and learnt about dealing with the effects of having a stroke, then in the individual sessions we dealt with the problems I was experiencing which was a really good mix. I was learning to read and how to spell again which was all very alien to me at that time. 

It was a hard week especially on a Friday which was a long day but I achieved it without falling asleep.

Megan

One of the saddest times during the summer was when my little old dog Megan became ill, she started having seizures and did not want to eat. Going for walks was out of the question.  Then at the beginning of August she died.  She was almost 18 years old and we had had her from 6 weeks so a huge loss to us all.  

We decided to bury her down by the stream and was in the middle of doing this when Ann turned up, she has a knack of turning up at just the right time and having her there really helped Liz and I.