Broken Pieces

Before, I used to be a whole, but now I feel crushed. I felt like a whole person before my stroke. After the stroke, I felt like my brain and heart were not working like they used to. Before the stroke, I used to feel like I was very smart. After stroke, I felt as…

Loyola Clinical Centers

People with aphasia who attend group treatment at the Loyola Clinical Centers in Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland shared their thoughts during Aphasia Awareness Month: Difficult – “Aphasia is difficult. It is hard for me to talk. I cannot say things I want to say. It is difficult when my wife is talking. Sometimes she writes…

Spirit

This is a Finding Words story! I miss the life I used have but I’ve become happy with the life I have now. I miss my old friends and my job as a scaffolding foreman. Because of the stroke I had 10 years ago I’ve made new friends and I love going to the Gebbie…

Redefining Ed.

Ed’s life was all about sports. From seeing his first World Series in elementary school to playing basketball, soccer, running track, and skiing through high school, his love of all things sports took a hold of him at an early age. Ed was captain of his high school’s varsity soccer team for two years and…

Writing Group at Aphasia Center of Tucson

We are the Writing 200 Group from the Aphasia Center of Tucson. We want to write sentences. It’s hard to come up with names. This semester, we wrote stories about our lives. For example, one member wrote about her skydiving trip 6 years ago. We feel very good about all that Fabi and all the…

Rehab Manager

Had one speech patient that could not get words out in a fluent manner but one day he broke through when asked if he was comfortable, he said “I’ll punch you in the mouth”, with a smile on his face. I told him it was wonderful he was talking fluently but I hope he did…

Maintaining a Positive Attitude

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…

Still Laughing and Contributing

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…