Several of you have recently inquired how Isabel is doing with her out-loud speaking.
She recently said the following in a letter to friends who do not have access to this blog:
"I am talking some now as the paralysis in my throat has partially lifted. The nurses or my girls need to deflate the cuff of my trach for me to talk. I can't swallow well so have lots of saliva but I can talk! Some of the muscles in my mouth are weak so I have trouble saying some words. I can say aluminum, linoleum, geranium and cinnamon buns, but I can't easily say “k” sounds such as “cat”, so I sometimes spell it out c-a-t. The speech therapist has ordered a speaking valve, which may make it easier to talk."
With a letterboard, the Alphasmart, and occasional outloud speaking, Isabel is finding a variety of ways to share her stories with us all.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Summer Holiday
It is two years this week since the West Nile Express roared through our lives ~ a tumultuous week of sudden illness for Isabel with outcomes that have shocked and amazed us all.
Who could have guessed that one mosquito bite could do so much neurological damage?
Who could have guessed even six months ago that Isabel would be walking and talking again? Mum would be quick to say "walking with a frame and two therapists; and talking with difficulty", but walking and talking she is.
We are thankful for so much amid the losses that we, and especially Mum, continue to keenly feel.
In the midst of these second anniversary reflections, there has been time for celebration and holiday spirit.
Two weeks ago, Isabel's Cousin Drew arrived from Los Angeles to explore some of his favourite haunts and to receive some classic Saskatchewan hospitality from his many households of cousins.
Isabel hosted Drew for four of those days in Regina. The comfortable hostel at Wascana Rehab Centre; a large kitchen for home-made meals, 40 acres of Wascana Park, and SOME hours of sunshine added to Isabel's Saskatchewan hospitality. Isabel and Drew discussed their previous holiday time together in Vancouver in the 40s; Hawaii in the 50s; Saskatchewan in the 60s, 70s and 80s; Bristol, Quebec (their Russell grandparents' home) in the 90s; and Saskatchewan and Mendocino, California during this decade. They pored over old photo albums, and memories that Isabel wrote on her laptop in the last two weeks.
A highlight of the visit was a two hour private van tour through the University of Regina, Wascana Park, College Avenue (and the old normal school building that Drew's Dad attended in the 1920s), and finally, half an hour in the floral gardens of the Legislative Buildings.
We are so thankful that Mum's health is such that this outing including moving in and out of the van with "Rufus" (her wheelchair) was undertaken with relative ease on her part.
We are so appreciative of Cousin Drew's efforts to come to visit us all. Two years ago his medical research provided invaluable knowledge for Mum's medical team and for ourselves. Two years later, his visit provided Isabel with a much enjoyed "holiday" from the regular day-in-day-out activities of life at Wascana.
On this sunshiny day in Saskatchewan ~ Happy Summer, everyone!
Who could have guessed that one mosquito bite could do so much neurological damage?
Who could have guessed even six months ago that Isabel would be walking and talking again? Mum would be quick to say "walking with a frame and two therapists; and talking with difficulty", but walking and talking she is.
We are thankful for so much amid the losses that we, and especially Mum, continue to keenly feel.
In the midst of these second anniversary reflections, there has been time for celebration and holiday spirit.
Two weeks ago, Isabel's Cousin Drew arrived from Los Angeles to explore some of his favourite haunts and to receive some classic Saskatchewan hospitality from his many households of cousins.
Isabel hosted Drew for four of those days in Regina. The comfortable hostel at Wascana Rehab Centre; a large kitchen for home-made meals, 40 acres of Wascana Park, and SOME hours of sunshine added to Isabel's Saskatchewan hospitality. Isabel and Drew discussed their previous holiday time together in Vancouver in the 40s; Hawaii in the 50s; Saskatchewan in the 60s, 70s and 80s; Bristol, Quebec (their Russell grandparents' home) in the 90s; and Saskatchewan and Mendocino, California during this decade. They pored over old photo albums, and memories that Isabel wrote on her laptop in the last two weeks.
A highlight of the visit was a two hour private van tour through the University of Regina, Wascana Park, College Avenue (and the old normal school building that Drew's Dad attended in the 1920s), and finally, half an hour in the floral gardens of the Legislative Buildings.
We are so thankful that Mum's health is such that this outing including moving in and out of the van with "Rufus" (her wheelchair) was undertaken with relative ease on her part.
We are so appreciative of Cousin Drew's efforts to come to visit us all. Two years ago his medical research provided invaluable knowledge for Mum's medical team and for ourselves. Two years later, his visit provided Isabel with a much enjoyed "holiday" from the regular day-in-day-out activities of life at Wascana.
On this sunshiny day in Saskatchewan ~ Happy Summer, everyone!
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