When Jean Deer suffered a life threatening stroke in 1997, he could no longer continue his 40 plus year career as a professional photographer. Through continuous therapy, he had to learn to use his non-dominant hand and arm, having lost all mobility in his favored right arm that he used as a professional photographer. Along…
A former Physical Education and Health teacher, youth football coach, high school track meet official and Summer Recreation Director in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bill’s life was devoted to kids and sports. His life was turned upside down when he suffered a stroke at 50 and developed aphasia, the communication disorder that occurs in 25-40%…
Alan Slepp has had a storied career as a successful business man, an Air Force veteran and a man of the theatre. His love of acting started as a hobby which led to working with some of the finest actors in the business. He studied with world renowned acting coach, Lee Strasberg, at the Actor’s…
You have trouble speaking, and that’s okay. I will give you time to say…. all that you want and all that you need are just a few extra steps away. I will be patient, I will be kind… because your words are just as important as mine. Don’t give up hope, don’t settle for less,…
Just six months ago, Vicki woke up and taught an early aerobics class like she always did. She then went on to her job at the bank. A normal day quickly changed when she fainted at work from having a stroke. Since her stroke, Vicki has made immense progress physically; in six months she has…
Ann Semple was a schoolteacher and social butterfly who loved to travel around the globe. She collected beer cans along the way and ultimately collected thousands. Her favorite travel site was the Great Wall of China. Ann had her stroke January 1, 2001 while with her friend Greg. She was diagnosed with aphasia. Communicating with…
On April 24, 2007, Lynda performed her normal morning routine and left for her job as a K-4 teacher. Three hours later her husband was called as she was exhibiting levels of “confusion”. By that evening she was hospitalized with viral encephalitis. As a result of the encephalitis Lynda was in the Neural Intensive Care…
I knew when I was in middle school that I wanted to be a Speech-Language Pathologist and I knew that I wanted to help people who had suffered from a stroke. Oddly enough, I didn’t even know of a single person who had a stroke. During my childhood, I was surrounded with many many adults…
In 2007 I had a stroke and aphasia. I almost died but with excellent medical care at North Memorial in Robbinsdale, MN, superb speech therapy through North Memorial, and continuing improvement through MnCAN (www.MnCAN.org) I have continued to get better. I use my iPad to improve my speech and understanding with programs through Lingraphica, Tactus…
Our story begins when I walked in our front door one afternoon and my husband was standing there, smiling, and had no idea who I was. We rushed him to the hospital and he came home to me 4 days later. Instantly I was caregiver to this wonderful man. He couldn’t speak, had trouble walking,…