tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post2563791218145453041..comments2024-03-29T08:54:05.713-04:00Comments on The Misadventures of Widowhood: Funeral Crashing Aphasia StyleMisadventures of Widowhoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-78313519244050518852021-10-12T18:01:59.576-04:002021-10-12T18:01:59.576-04:00Oh, yes, and each stroke survivor's aphasia is...Oh, yes, and each stroke survivor's aphasia is slightly different. We were lucky to have access to a college with a program for speech therapists who taught us lots of technics for prompting speech. Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-34102739922965050282021-10-12T16:43:11.890-04:002021-10-12T16:43:11.890-04:00Yes! Aphasia was hard. I still have some, more wh...Yes! Aphasia was hard. I still have some, more when I'm tired, and it's frustrating, but it is getting (s-l-o-w-l-y) better. I'm very lucky that my caregivers don't just jump in and say it (what they think is the word) for me. Because, in addition to it not being the word I'm actually trying to say, it derails my train of thought, and since my stroke, I have only a Denisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09787251044110758758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-39976668056802471362021-10-01T15:41:27.927-04:002021-10-01T15:41:27.927-04:00Oh, yes,s the range of emotion after any sudden on...Oh, yes,s the range of emotion after any sudden onset of a disabilities brings you through a grieving process before you get to acceptance and start working on improving where you can. I credit keeping a gratitude journal in the beginning for helping me push through the loses we both faced with his stroke. I found my caregiver humor that way by actually looking for the positives in our days.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-24913097377721130152021-10-01T15:19:09.093-04:002021-10-01T15:19:09.093-04:00Dear Jean--I had to go to a dictionary to look up ...Dear Jean--I had to go to a dictionary to look up aphasia and apraxia--both new words for me. Living for 12 1/2 years with your husband after his massive stroke had to be filled with such a range of emotions. I would suspect that it was a long span of grieving. But also--possibly--a course in what love really means. Your story of the obituary and the four-year-old Don had known all those years Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612299013780771262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-37914606152160609922021-10-01T07:10:49.148-04:002021-10-01T07:10:49.148-04:00Your husband is right. It helps with the grieving ...Your husband is right. It helps with the grieving process to see how may others cared enough to show up.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-43860352675232973692021-10-01T04:34:59.132-04:002021-10-01T04:34:59.132-04:00Your post was both moving and very funny! Love the...Your post was both moving and very funny! Love the thought of being an accidental funeral crasher! As my better half and I are in our 60s and both from very large families, we go to quite a lot of funerals. He always says, if you're wondering whether you should attend or not, then you must attend. Families are always pleased that you're honouring their loved one.Around My Kitchen Tablehttp://www.aroundmykitchentable.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-8426150005998861042021-09-30T21:16:57.297-04:002021-09-30T21:16:57.297-04:00He had a high IQ and our appreciation for one anot...He had a high IQ and our appreciation for one another grew stronger as we worked hard at his speech therapies. Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-68497418351479864562021-09-30T16:46:26.344-04:002021-09-30T16:46:26.344-04:00I'm sure it was hard trying to communicate wit...I'm sure it was hard trying to communicate with Don at times but sure seems like you did your best and I'm sure that made him happy.Mary Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04991095291522043588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-25573948326646893652021-09-30T16:11:15.679-04:002021-09-30T16:11:15.679-04:00P.S. Thank you. Your opinion means a lot, given ho...P.S. Thank you. Your opinion means a lot, given how you spent your professional life in the field.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-69521838425908526642021-09-30T16:10:08.205-04:002021-09-30T16:10:08.205-04:00I think enough time has passed since Do died that ...I think enough time has passed since Do died that I could put a self-published book together of blog posts like this and of some of our speech classes. I've wanted to but emotions got in the way when I tried it before. I kept two blogs back in those days, one very detailed of how the student speech pathologists were being taught to diagnosis and set up therapy sessions for Don. And the other Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-74160482873237128152021-09-30T15:43:30.759-04:002021-09-30T15:43:30.759-04:00You were most adept at eliciting meaningful commun...You were most adept at eliciting meaningful communications from your husband. His dual issues of loss of language coupled with the difficulty making the precise movements to produce desired and/or intelligible words can be especially challenging, frustrating to the person who has those problems and their loved ones/caregivers. Humor coping with the situation goes a long way helping all to Joaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03155775053108104385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-55026281436091012892021-09-30T15:32:21.716-04:002021-09-30T15:32:21.716-04:00He had a real special way of communicating without...He had a real special way of communicating without speech that endeared him to people who took the time to interact with him. It was like being on a game show when he wanted to tell us something. After a while you didn't know who was trying to queue words out of who. Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-1901305204914148182021-09-30T15:10:46.031-04:002021-09-30T15:10:46.031-04:00I love the way Don's personality comes through...I love the way Don's personality comes through in these posts. -Jean P.jpotuchekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01948699202677839108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-8520983177641374132021-09-30T00:07:00.581-04:002021-09-30T00:07:00.581-04:00Even when you know the deceased, at a good funeral...Even when you know the deceased, at a good funeral or memorial you learn new things about them.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-86975304723144444342021-09-29T22:19:29.088-04:002021-09-29T22:19:29.088-04:00Funeral Crashing, well, you're one up on me th...Funeral Crashing, well, you're one up on me then, I've Crashed some Parties but never a Funeral! My Mom once knew a Lady that attended every Funeral she knew about whether or not she knew the decedent or the Living there, she'd sincerely Cry up a storm, it just always Touched her Deeply I guess and so she was always Welcome even tho' nobody knew her and didn't dare to ask. *Bohemianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03743017084098726581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-45139773049259896522021-09-29T18:26:01.117-04:002021-09-29T18:26:01.117-04:00We were both lucky that Don didn't embrace the...We were both lucky that Don didn't embrace the "why me?" mindset that happens when someone acquires a disability. Most survivors do but the ones who make peace with their "why me?" early on are quicker to put that energy to better use working on therapies and making the most of what they still can do. Don had a great sense of humor and that came through even without Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-47608149274813060552021-09-29T17:04:49.385-04:002021-09-29T17:04:49.385-04:00This was moving and full of love This was moving and full of love Jo-Anne's Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11418152399382818709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-49329801775259386232021-09-29T10:14:10.139-04:002021-09-29T10:14:10.139-04:00It's amazing how much the brain can heal itsel...It's amazing how much the brain can heal itself. The same thing that kept Don from speaking kept him from writing. Glad your son had a good outcome. Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-30013973667434736152021-09-29T09:53:56.024-04:002021-09-29T09:53:56.024-04:00After my middle son needed emergency brain surgery...After my middle son needed emergency brain surgery while he was in high school, his vocal cords were paralyzed so he couldn't speak. We were lucky that he could write words, altho, often it was difficult deciphering what he was trying to tell us so I can identify with the guessing game strategy you used! We were lucky that with therapy his vocal cords recovered and he was fine after several Ellen D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03776803182673252265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-24101445934040354752021-09-29T08:58:07.761-04:002021-09-29T08:58:07.761-04:00It helps to be both stubborn and patient when livi...It helps to be both stubborn and patient when living with (or being) someone with a language disorder. For a long time I've wanted to put some of my blogs from that era into a hard copy book. Maybe after I move I'll finally do it.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-63208075081418129032021-09-29T08:43:01.121-04:002021-09-29T08:43:01.121-04:00What a good detective you were. You were right, wh...What a good detective you were. You were right, what a memory he had to remember a four year old from his youth. That was a thread to keep you off the crashers list:)Arkansas Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156004753267665579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-33313427399420165702021-09-29T08:37:25.655-04:002021-09-29T08:37:25.655-04:00Honesty, I think crashing funeral and weddings bot...Honesty, I think crashing funeral and weddings both are popular with people looking for a free meal.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-53557660183122039592021-09-29T08:33:19.620-04:002021-09-29T08:33:19.620-04:00WE really did. Without the opportunity to be guine...WE really did. Without the opportunity to be guinea pigs for the student pathologists we never would have been able to learn the tools we needed to pull speech out of Don.<br /><br />It will be fun watching your kitchen come together, but a magic wand would be fun too.Misadventures of Widowhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17262709452281226620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-82915042007666124902021-09-29T07:31:00.795-04:002021-09-29T07:31:00.795-04:00I've heard of wedding crashers, but never a fu...I've heard of wedding crashers, but never a funeral crasher. What a great story!shoreacreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284698314697628805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5990351249805345004.post-61483131125751913622021-09-29T07:20:03.729-04:002021-09-29T07:20:03.729-04:00You and Don really had to work hard in order to co...You and Don really had to work hard in order to communicate! Loved this post--so sweet, yet funny, too. Hope you're hanging in there, with only a few more days to go until the BIG DAY! Today, we're going to start prep for our kitchen remodel in our future home. Part of me wishes I could just wave a magic wand and have it all done. Take care of yourself, Jean!Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04495841077527091378noreply@blogger.com