70 days: feels like a couple, or a couple of years.
The single words have grown into a bumpy sentence.
Baby steps...
In the beginning, I knew places.
Oops...stroke!
I knew where I was, but I couldn't tell you. They asked me where I was.
I would point to the name of the hospital on the dry erase board on the wall.
On those days, pointing was sufficient.
Now I can say where I am most times, and I can pull that locale out of my brain.
Baby steps...
In the beginning, there was Jackie and me.
Then there were the vows: love and marriage, to have and to hold, for better or worse, and of course, sickness and health.
Jackie's knee replacement problems have become troublesome, and I was her caretaker.
I thought I was a vow guru.
Oops...stroke!
She was the new vow guru after those troubles.
Jackie has been getting stronger as a result of the staff of professionals who care for her.
I have stayed at my sister's home, and family and friends made me into a passenger, and therapy and visits were possible.
Now I can stay at my home in short increments.
Sickness and more sickness...and health!
We'll be back!
Baby steps...
In the beginning, a paid photo license card was at my home.
I had just days to get my picture taken.
Oops...stroke!
There was no license yet.
A faulty brain brought fear of losing independence and then slowly getting it back.
A neurologist said there will be short trips, little traffic, and no highways.
Friends and family!
One friend drove me to the Department of Transportation, and I have a license!
I have driven two times, once with my son, and the second with my friend!
I will drive!
Baby steps...
In the beginning, I was articulating, fluently reading, word loving, and teaching letter sounds.
Oops...stroke!
Soon it was Opposite Day.
Preposterous pronouns.
The girls were the boys, and the boys were the girls.
He was she, and she was he.
Actresses and actors, wives and husbands.
Vertable vowels.
It was a busy day for talking about my chicks and my chickbook.
NO! Not about girls and a little black book!
YES! My checks and my checkbook.
It was a glorious day for sitting on the front porch with sun and warmth, and not the dick in the back where it was cold and shady.
NO! Not vulgarity or shady talk!
YES! The warm porch, not the cold deck, was perfect for lounging!
Slowly the sounds come trickling in as each faux pas is replaced.
Baby steps...
In the beginning, I knew names.
Oops...stroke!
Your names escaped me.
I knew who you were, but I couldn't say your names.
On the second day, my favorite possession became a pencil and paper.
I knew where you lived. I knew where you worked. I knew who was in your home. Family and friends: A name is a precious thing, and I wanted your names back.
I saw in my brain a neighborhood, and a map was there. Your homes were there and your names were there and I wrote!
I saw a school building, and a map was there. I saw your classrooms and offices. Your names were there and I wrote!
I saw my relatives, families together in a home. Your names belonged together and I wrote!
Names, present and past, are back. You're back!
Baby steps...
70 days: they came and went.
There is more to do to get back the good.
There is more to do to dispense the bad.
Baby steps...
