Wednesday September 20

After just a short stay at the inpatient rehab clinic, Stephanie is back at home.  She is sleeping in her own bed for the first time in over a month.  Dennis too, for that matter.  (He had been sleeping on hospital cots every night just to stay close to Stephanie and be there as she needed him.)  She is enjoying meals outside on their little patio, some even that she helps to prepare.  She, with help, strolls down to the beach near their apartment and watches Dennis catch a few waves.  

With a few days break from doctors and rehab sessions (due to the timing of things), she's enjoyed a little taste of her old life at home and has even spent some time with friends. And to her, life at home has felt different but close enough to normal (she wants to go for a run)! And when you spend time with Steph, it can be easy to get carried away with her progress and forget that she is recovering from a TBI (traumatic brain injury) and suffering from aphasia.

Steph’s progress so far is truly remarkable.  And it’s great to see so much of her personality coming back.  I definitely don’t want to diminish how far she’s come.  But really, Stephanie has been left with some severe impairments. Thankfully, medical professionals have indicated Stephanie has the potential to overcome most and maybe even all such impairments with time and intensive rehab. Recovery from a TBI like hers and her specific diagnosis of expressive aphasia will likely be long.  And she will need your ongoing support.  Steph just started an outpatient TBI rehab program to help her.  She spends her days doing all kinds of therapy, especially speech and language therapy and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.  It’s been a hard adjustment and realization for Steph, and she has not yet fully acknowledged the severity of her impairments/need for such intensive rehab.  Her medical team and family know though that her rehab program is an important part of truly bringing Stephanie home.  Fully home to herself.  

As Steph increases her interactions with people, I want to leave you with some requests (based on advice from experts). We ask that you please:

1. Be patient as we learn how to best to support Steph and as she and Dennis find their new rhythm.  Steph needs a lot of rest and downtime to allow her brain to recover which we are trying to balance with allowing her a sense of normal.
2. Clear any and all visits with Dennis.
3. Keep visits very short (30 min unless you’ve gotten the ok from Dennis to stay longer).  Steph’s love of socializing and seeing her friends is back.  And she needs that.  But, it is also very stimulating and she needs to make sure her brain is rested and ready to tackle the hard work of recovery.  Steph may invite, even insist, that you to stay longer, but don’t.  And if you’re coming from out of town, please get your own place.
4. Be supportive while talking to Steph but don’t pretend to understand everything.  You can ask her to repeat or rephrase.  You can repeat back with what you think the correct phrases might have been or help her find her words. (more tips in the link about aphasia below).
5. Be careful not to enable Stephanie’s denial regarding her injury and resulting impairments (e.g. “you seem totally fine to me!”).
6. No pictures--especially no posting on any kind of social media.
7. Send cards and pictures with memories, stories, & encouragement in lieu of texting and messaging on social media. If sending a text/message, write the message in a way that does not necessarily require a response or that requires a very short response (e.g. a yes/no question versus an open ended question).
8. Read up on TBI and expressive aphasia (resources below).
9. Keep sending your love, healing vibes, positive energy, & prayers! 

Here are two quick resources.  If you are a medical provider or have supported someone with TBI or expressive aphasia, feel free to leave additional resources you’ve found particularly helpful.  

• About TBI:  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/TBI/
• About APHASIA:  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Aphasia/

You might also be interested in, even inspired by, the story of professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his recovery from a severe brain injury and his TedTalk about his accident (which feels all too familiar).

“be easy. take your time. you are coming home. to yourself. — the becoming” 
― Nayyirah Waheed, nejma