Author: jenannlynn

In March 2004, I suffered a severe brainstem stroke, & was "locked in" for several months". I have been married to a wonderful man, Mark ever since 1994, & we have 3 kids: Zach, Jessie, & Sophie. I have been blessed in so many ways by God, so I wanted to keep a blog to share my recovery, life, & answer questions.

Aug 16, 2004

Today marks the 5th month since Jenny’s stroke. I am very pleased with her progress compared to what I had imagined things to be like 5 months ago. We continue to find new ways to utilize Jenny’s movements. Two days ago, I supported her arm while Jenny wrote words by moving her hand that had a marker taped in it. She would write a letter, pause, and I would move the paper over for the next letter. That worked out, so we played our favorite game again (MasterMind), but this time Jenny would point to the colors as I supported her arm. Last night, I took it a step farther and I put a 3/8 inch diameter dowel rod in her hand (which she held by herself) and she pointed to letters on a letter board. It was so much faster and easier to communicate. Instead of sentences, she spelled paragraphs.

I also had an early morning thought that turned out to be a good idea. I had been frustrated by the fact that Jenny could not take advantage of showers now that her trache is out since out bathroom addition would not be done for at least another month. The idea came into my mind that her showerchair might fit into our master shower/bath upstairs since Jenny demanded that the builders put in an oval tub. Sure enough, it fit perfect! I carried Jenny upstairs to surprise her with her first real shower in 5 months. Usually we wash her hair with a basin and cups of water. This time, she sat under the shower and let the water flow through her hair and over her body. For the first time, her hair looked clean and Jenny cries with happy tears the whole time. Melissa and Dustin left for California yesterday and we will really miss them. It made things easier and they made our lives more entertaining and uplifting. The kids miss them so much already. My mom is now with us and she does a great job and cooks like none else.

Aug 13, 2004

Jenny was very ill today. I have been cautiously wondering what would happen if Jenny ever threw up – especially now that her trache has been removed. I now know. It was a mess, but Jenny did great with handling everything respiratory related. She now feels much better and I think it was something she ate. Many of her meds were reduced that help with pain and involuntary movements. She seems to be doing well with it, but we should know in a couple days if she can tolerate the reduction. Jenny would prefer to be off all meds, so she will deal with some pain if she could.

Aug 12, 2004

Jenny got rid of a few more medical related things today and did some aqua therapy indoors today. The weather has been cool in Indy this summer – which happens to be the first year we try to get to a pool more often. Anyhow, with just under 2 weeks’ break from aqua therapy, Jenny was able to demonstrate new movements in the water with her left leg, as well as right arm and leg. Many times, Jenny surprises herself when she is asked to try something and she ends up doing it. I have learned that it does not hurt to ask. I ended up getting Jenny’s face in the water, by accident, and she did fine – despite my error. Her biggest problem was laughing too much.

Aug 10, 2004

Jenny enjoyed her birthday last Sunday and is most positive that now she is 31, things can only get better. She really liked 2 parts of her party. The first was the lasagna that her sister made (with plenty of leftovers). The second, which was a surprise to me, was a simple watch that speaks the time on the hour. It appears that we have erred when it comes to keeping Jenny informed of the time and date. I did hang a large wall clock, but I guess that is only good if I also placed her so she could watch it when she needed to know the time. It appears that this simple gift was another way to lift one more barrier.

We have been slowly getting rid of medical related equiptment which the act of doing so serves as a symbol of her progress. The trache is obviously gone (the hole seems to be completly closed now), I have removed head and trunk supports form her wheel chair. The medical rental company removed medical equiptment from her room. There are also various plans to removed or reduce other medical related things in her life. At times when progress has slowed, or she has experienced decline in her vision, it tends to be a positive boost to have these medical things removed.

Aug 8, 2004

Jenny is on a streak of having really great days lately. Last night, her sister kidnapped her and they were out late buying the mall out. Today was Jenny’s birthday and she was in good spirits all day. She was dressed in a new birthday outfit for church and looked beatuiful. We had a birthday celebration and opened gifts with her. The kids have been overly affectionate with her to the point that we have to limit their love giving now, or watch to see that they do not get too aggressive with her. Going to church (one of the more emotional places for Jenny) was uncertain since Jenny’s vocal chords were fully accessible. She cried good and long during the opening hymn “Because I Have Been Given Much”. It is a favorite song that has lots of meaning for her. The rest of the time Jenny had laughing spells, but was generally reverent and able to limit the outbursts. I have to admit that it would be nice to laugh or cry when you want and get away with it.