[ADXA] major life change, at least for awhile

[Dennis Schaefer]

My wife, Melissa (N5HX) had a stroke on August 1.  She has been through ER,
ICU, hospital, and rehab and has been home for about a week.  I haven’t had
much experience with strokes because everyone on my side of the family
succumbed to something else.  I’m learning way more than I ever wanted to
know.

We got her to the ER right away and she had the clot -busting drug within
1.5 hours.  I understand there are some downsides to this, but it was what
the hospital had to offer on an expedited basis.

She suffers from aphasia, which means you know what you want to say, but
your mouth won’t say it.  It has gotten better and she will be in
outpatient speech therapy for some time.  The doctors say she should regain
most or all of her speech.  I hope they’re right but it will be a long
process.  She does puzzles (Sudoku and jumbles) and can crochet and get
dressed and do many things independently.  She follows the plot in a murder
mystery TV show and keeps up with  the Texas Rangers lineup better than I
do.  Decision-making and understanding processes need some work, though.

The therapists emphasized variations in communication exercises, so I’m
sure you can guess what I thought of.  It could involve dits and dahs.  She
is a 13 WPM Extra but it has been decades since she actually used CW.  It’s
something to have a little fun with, anyway.

I’m aware I’m not the only member with caretaking duties.  This increases
my respect for them.   Maybe 6 months from now, I’ll be back to meetings
and she will be back to near normal activities.  That’s the goal, anyway.
73,
Dennis/RZ
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