Margaret continues to impress me! Yesterday when I arrived, she was laying in bed with her head turned slightly to the left (she had never had her head past midpoint before) She continues to improve her/eating swallowing and is eating more and more varieties of food. Today she was practically doing "half" sit-ups with the physical therapist! There's a piano in one of the family rooms and today Margaret went down there and started playing some sheet music.
It dawned on me that some of the visitors may not know what to expect when they first see Margaret, so I thought I'd give you a heads up.
First of all, you'll probably notice she now has a "crew cut" and there is a large "bump" on the side of her head where her brain was swelling. her face looks thinner because she has lost weight and her smile is a little crooked due to the stroke. Her speech is much better, and you can understand her almost all the time. Margaret can carry on a conversation, but will sometimes just stop talking as she processes what she will say next. As you all know, Margaret loves to read, but it is difficult for her to read with her vision problems right now due to the stroke. (Today we were reading headlines in the paper and looking at pictures in a magizine) Margaret also likes being read to and then talking about the articles or the book. Margaret also has what i think they call a "flat mood/tone/emotions". This is common in the type of stroke she had and will appear unemotional (althought we do get get a grin now and then!)
Again, Thanks to all her visitors who have been bringing her flowers/food/magazines/DVD's etc etc. Margaret can eat alsmost anything now as long as it isn't dry or sticky and can be swallowed fairly easily. We're still coming up with things margaret can do when she has visitors to interact with them--one good idea was working together on crossword puzzles, reading to her, playing cards, going thru a magizine/book with her, or even watching/talking about the news with her. Always looking for more good ideas!
What a great report. Keep up the good work Margaret. She was talking politics last time I was there. And yes you can get a grin out of her. She seems to improve a bit each time you see her. God bless her family for taking such good care of her.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Terry you have all been wonderful inyour commitment to Margaret. Please post her adress, I have had surgery and can't get to her but want to send cards. Could Margaret play Concentration with a small deck of cards and gradually increase? There is also a game called Boggle which might be fun, you have to find words from dice with letters on them. Word Searches are another idea. I hope to be mobile next week and would enjoy any of them with her, she would probably beat me though! Jennifer Stowell neighbor
ReplyDelete