My Mother's Stroke

Yesterday, June 13th marked the 3 month anniversary of our mother’s stroke! I write an ‘!’ because what was once a source of grief and worry is now a source of joy, hope, praise and reflection. When I sit back and reflect upon all that went down these past 3 months, I am nothing short of amazed and in complete awe of God – in both His goodness and His sovereignty. I was taken back at how God allowed the stroke to happen in the first place, but I am truly amazed at what he has done with and for my mother in this short period of time. Let’s briefly recap:

3 months ago my mother suffered a stroke that affected 1/3 of her brain (2/3 of her left hemisphere) and was totally paralyzed on her right side, suffered from Dysphagia and could not speak or swallow. She was completely bed-ridden in ICU, had to feed through a feeding tube, had loss of vision on her right side, and could not communicate with the outside world in anyway but through the squeezing of  her left hand, and even that was intermittent. To top it all off, the doctors were not very positive in their diagnosis and told us that mom would likely never walk, move her right side, understand a lot of what we said, or speak…even swallow again.

Fast forward 3 months later and you have God displaying His goodness and miraculous power. The thing is no doctor truly understands the way ischemic strokes work and the lasting effect that they will exert on one’s body. But it is safe to say God knew. Mom is not only walking now, she can actually walk without her cane around the house. She has regained movement in every part of the right side of her body (the last thing to come was her right hand. She still has to teach herself to trust it more, but she is definitely moving it). She is able to eat whatever she wants (in fact she can swallow over 5+ pills at a time with ease), use the washroom by herself, wash her own hands, and she is talking. In fact, God has seen to it that everything we feared she would lose, she has regained. I remember watching her in rehab- tearing up and celebrating at every little progress that was made – from her saying new words to her learning to walk and moving her right hand. She progressed so quickly and responds so well to therapy that she works the same hours in therapy that the therapists do. Most stroke patients get 3 hours or less of therapy a day. Mom gets 6.

She looks absolutely great. The slowest thing to come back is her speech but really every time we see her she is learning how to say more and more words. She does not let her current speech disability stop her from getting her point across. She asks about us daily, answers the phone, tells us when to turn on the air and/or shut the windows, how much to open the blinds, to turn the alarm on at night, to call when we get home after traveling. She asks about our significant others, asks what time is it, explains the bills detail by detail, picks out what she wants for dinner. She communicates everything she would normally communicate. And you know what, the most amazing thing about all of this is that for the last 3 months she has never complained. She is determined to let God use her. Please yall, if you know my mother, take some time and reflect, as I do daily, not just how much my mother had affected your life before her stroke with her love and kindness, but also after the stroke with her determination, strength and faith.

Now on to a quick weekend update: I came home this past weekend and when I walked up the stairs she had the biggest smile on her face. Nothing makes Deanna and I happier than seeing the smile on our mother’s face (Why do you think we go home so often?). On Saturday, we worked on a few exercises and then went on to the grocery store. We ended up bringing her wheelchair (which she never uses) and her cane, because we were not sure which one she would be most comfortable in inside the store. To our surprise she chose neither one. She walked shoulder to shoulder with me inside the store, then she grabbed and cart and pushed that thing all across the store. She was moving so fast I got scared! Next, we went to pick up the new lamps Deanna had picked out with mom for the living room.

On Sunday we went downtown to the RIC (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) where they were having an “Aphasia Day” Convention. Aphasia is a language disorder (which varies in degree per patient) that is common among stroke patients. A person with aphasia, in one way or another, has difficulty with understanding and expressing language. However, we are convinced that our mother suffers from apraxia more so than aphasia. 'Apraxia is a disorder caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum, characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements'. Mom just has difficulty with her speech output at times, but her reading and comprehension are right on. But we went anyway and had a good time. Mom, being all popular, was greeted by her therapists as soon as she walked in. Her therapists praised her progress the whole time we were there just speaking on how quickly she is progressing and how much they love working with her. Other people were just amazed that she had just had her stroke 3 months ago – after all she gets around pretty good and looks great. She improved more in 3 months than most stroke patients do in years (especially those with this severe of a stroke).

We got back home from Aphasia day around 5 with all of us being tired. We ate dinner and then Mom kicked me out (as usual) with a smile. She kicks me out around 6/7 every time I drive home (as opposed to fly). She doesn’t want her baby boy to drive too late at night…lol

Above all else, we have much to be thankful for. In just 3 short months God has changed our lives all around while at the same time blessing us and teaching us so many things. This has resulted in endless reflection for me. So please, take some time this week and reflect on what God has done and is doing inside the life of my mother and those around her.



Blessings..