We have been working so hard today, my head is wrecked, and John is exhausted, he has gone up for a sleep. John seems to have gone up a gear the last few days, he got up to memorising 8 coloured blocks, which is probably more than most people can do. We have been working on English, comprehension and grammar. John is speeding through the Keda reading programme, we have finished level 1 and will start level 2 tomorrow. We did audiblox and went onto level 4 sequencing exercise, John could remember most of the monarchs of England, the books of the Bible, the planets in the solar system. He has been learning the names of the children on Jacob in order. He has also finished all the speech therapy work which involved pages of writing, he hated it but worked through it.We see the speech therapist tomorrow. He is still doing the exercise bike and the balancing board.
John phoned the Stroke Association help line today to ask advice about returning to work. Shockingly only 17% of young (under 60) stroke survivors are able to return to work after a stroke. This is mainly due to a lack of support and therapy after the stroke. The stroke association argue that a lot of these people could get back to work if they were given the right treatment after the stroke.
She was very helpful advising John on how to manage his language difficulties when he is in meetings and under pressure. Telling people he's had a stroke and asking if they will just give him time if he can't find the language. She is sending out some information leaflets that he can send to work. A lady from Occupational Health is planning to visit on Thursday, she is apparently very experienced with strokes and will assess John, she will work with John and his employer to help with his return to work. Please pray that this will go well and the right decisions will be made. The difficulty we have is that in some ways John can't re-learn his job unless he can get back into the environment, but this has to be done with care so as to not tire John or overwhelm him. We both think it would be a good idea for John to go into work for a few hours just be in the environment where he can become re-aquainted with everything again, yet not have to actually do any work.
We are finding that when John comes across something new since the stroke he is confused and needs to re-learn it. This happened yesterday in Aber Khan, I was looking for materials to make wedding invitations, John became confused and said he had no idea what I was talking about. I managed to find a book on card making and once I had shown it to him he remembered and knew what I was talking about. I am sure things will fall into place once John finds himself in the work environment.
I am even more convinced about brain plasticity since John had the stroke, I can see John get worse if he hasn't been exercizing his brain and better when he has. The difference is so marked, it makes me want to weep when I think of those who have had strokes but are left unable to work, feeling depressed and socially isolated. It's early days for John but he is improving every day which is a real blessing.
John phoned the Stroke Association help line today to ask advice about returning to work. Shockingly only 17% of young (under 60) stroke survivors are able to return to work after a stroke. This is mainly due to a lack of support and therapy after the stroke. The stroke association argue that a lot of these people could get back to work if they were given the right treatment after the stroke.
She was very helpful advising John on how to manage his language difficulties when he is in meetings and under pressure. Telling people he's had a stroke and asking if they will just give him time if he can't find the language. She is sending out some information leaflets that he can send to work. A lady from Occupational Health is planning to visit on Thursday, she is apparently very experienced with strokes and will assess John, she will work with John and his employer to help with his return to work. Please pray that this will go well and the right decisions will be made. The difficulty we have is that in some ways John can't re-learn his job unless he can get back into the environment, but this has to be done with care so as to not tire John or overwhelm him. We both think it would be a good idea for John to go into work for a few hours just be in the environment where he can become re-aquainted with everything again, yet not have to actually do any work.
We are finding that when John comes across something new since the stroke he is confused and needs to re-learn it. This happened yesterday in Aber Khan, I was looking for materials to make wedding invitations, John became confused and said he had no idea what I was talking about. I managed to find a book on card making and once I had shown it to him he remembered and knew what I was talking about. I am sure things will fall into place once John finds himself in the work environment.
I am even more convinced about brain plasticity since John had the stroke, I can see John get worse if he hasn't been exercizing his brain and better when he has. The difference is so marked, it makes me want to weep when I think of those who have had strokes but are left unable to work, feeling depressed and socially isolated. It's early days for John but he is improving every day which is a real blessing.
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