I’M GLAD U ASKED WHAT I DO 4 BREATH EXERCISES. NON-MUSIC STUFF:
1. I DO “CANDLE THERAPY”, & BLOW OUT A CANDLE 30 TIMES IN LESS THAN 5 MIN…& I INCREASE THE AMOUNT, & DECREASE THE TIME. I TRIED BLOWING BUBBLES, BUT I AM NOT STRONG ENOUGH YET, & IT IS MESSY!
2. I HAVE A SPIROMETER FROM MY OLD SPEECH THERAPIST–IT MEASURES YOUR BREATH, & I TRY 2 GET IT UP TO SOMETHING LIKE 2600.
3. LEE SILVERMAN VOICE TREATMENT (LSVT). THE PROGRAM I WAS DOING (LSCV), CAN BE DIVIDED INTO 5 SECTIONS:
• IN SECTION 1, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES.
• IN SECTION 2, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN AN ASCENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 3, I SAID “AAAH” 12 TIMES, IN A DECENDING SCALE.
• IN SECTION 4, I SAID 10 FUNCTIONAL PHRASES
• IN SECTION 5, I SAID 10 WORDS/SHORT PHRASES FROM A LIST–SOME WORDS ARE “YES,” “NO,” HELP,” “THANK YOU,” “YOU’RE WELCOME,” “WHAT,” “OK,”HELLO,” “HOW ARE YOU,” I’M FINE”
I WILL TRY TO POST ON MY BLOG THE VIDEO OF ME DOING MOST OF LSVT W/MY OLD SPEECH THERAPIIST…

I ALSO USE A METRONOME A LOT. I BREATH BETWEEN 40-56 NORMALLY, SO I FIND RELAXING MUSIC IN THAT SLOW RHYTHYM, & TRY TO INHALE & EXHALE FOR 2 COUNTS–USUALLY, I INHALE FOR 1 COUNT, TRY TO HOLD 1 COUNT, & TRY TO EXHALE 2 COUNTS (I OFTEN EXHALE 1 1/2 COUNTS!) THIS EXERCISE ALSO CALMS MY PBA, WITH OR W/O MUSIC!

BUT OONE OF MY MOST BENEFICIAL YET: I SET THE METRONOME BETWEEN 52-54 BEATS (FOR ME), &7 EVERY 3RD BEAT, I INHALE, & EVERY 4TH BEAT I BLOW ON A RECORDER OR WHISTLE. IT GETS TRICKY SOMETIMES, BUT THE BLOW OFTEN STARTS AS A QUIET SOUND, & GETS LOUDER. MY NEW GOAL IS TO HOLD OUT THAT SOUND…

I ALSO DO MANY COMPENSATORY STRATEGIES TO MAKE MY SPEECH CLEARER I SLOW MY SPEECH & EMPHASIZE THE SYLLABLES WHEN MY WORDS ARE NOT RECOGNIZED, A FRIEND OF MINE WILL ASK ME 2 USE MY SIGN LANGUAGE 2 SIGN HER THE 1ST LETTER OF THE WORD, IF SHE DOESN’T GET THE WORD, & I DO A LOT OF GESTURES/VISUALS–PEOPLE CAN ALMOST GUESS A SENTENCE BY IT–4 EX., I ASKED MY “HELPER” 2 PUT THE SILVER THUMBDRIVE IN MY COMPUTER, POINTING AT THE THUMBDRIVES, THEN POINTING AT THE COMPUTER, & WHEN I SAID THE SENTENCE AGAIN, EACH WORD HAD IT’S OWN BREATH, & ONCE I GOT TO THE WORD “SILVER,” SHE PRETTY MUCH FIGURED IT OUT FROM MY GESTURES.

MK IS REALLY MY CARETAKER, BUT I DO HAVE SOME1 WHO COMES. ANGIE COMES 2 1/2 DAYS/WEEK–MON. , WED., & THURSDAYS, FOR ABOUT 3-7 HOURS. BUT SHE’S NOT TRAINED OR ANYTHING. JUST A CHURCH FRIEND WHO’S LIKE A PERSONAL ASSISSTANT, WHO OCCASIONALLY POTTIES ME. THE 1ST YEAR I HAD NURSES, BUT 1 LIED & STOLE, & NURSES TEND 2 TREAT ME MORE LIKE THE MEDICAL CONDITION, &/OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED. CHURCH FRIENDS HAVE BEEN HONEST, & I HANG OUT & HAVE FUN WITH A FRIEND ALL DAY, WHICH REALLY HELPS EMOTIONALLY! SHE DOES THERAPY W/ME, GIVES ME FOOD (I FEED MYSELF NOW, BUT WHEN I COULDN’T, IT WAS AN ISSUE W/THE NURSES), & HELPS ME DO ODD JOBS, WHETHER CLEANING, BURNING A CD, ORGANIZING, OR SCRAPBOOKING. MY CURRENT “HELPER” DOES A LOT OF HEALTHY COOKING 4 ME, AS WELL. & I HAVE A SPECIAL BOND WITH HER TODDLER…SINCE HE’S A TALKER, HE LOVES 2 HAVE ME TALK…IN FACT, WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT NO1 UNDERSTANDS COMPLETELY! LOL (WELL, ANGIE GETS MOST OF IT, SINCE SHE UNDERSTANDS HIM, & USUALLY CAN FIGURE ME OUT TOO!) BETWEEN HIM & HER, IT HAS REALLY HELPED MY SPEECH!

YES. & I HOPE IT WILL HELP ME TO STILL RECOVER MORE. (WHEN I HAD MY STROKE, I WAS TOLD THAT WHATEVER I RECOVERED AFTER 6-9 MONTHS WAS ALL I’D GET BACK. WHAT A HUGE LIE! I REMEMBER I WAS SO UPSET, CUZ I BARELY STARTED RECOVERING THEN! I’VE RECOVERED TONS SINCE THEN!)

THE 1ST YEAR POST STROKE, WE HIT EXERCISES PRETTY HARD. NOW, I DO ENOUGH 2 MAINTAIN THAT PROGRESS, SO I DO TILT TABLE FOR AT LEAST 30 MIN. A DAY, OR MY HUSBAND WILL SUPPORT ME SO I CAN STAND WHEN WE ARE ON VACATION, OR IF I CAN’T SEE SOMETHING.

I DO WATER THERAPY ON OCCASION, & CAN TAKE SOME STEPS W/MY HUSBAND’S SUPPORT. IT’S HARD 2 MAKE MY LEFT KNEE BEND, & 2 RAISE MY LEFT FOOT AS I STEP FORWARD, SO I TEND 2 SWING MY LEG AROUND, OR MY HUSBAND NUDGES IT WHEN I GET STUCK.

AT 1ST, I HAD WATER SQUEEZED IN MY MOUTH. BUT WHEN I LEARNED THAT I COULD USE A STRAW, I HAD A CUP THAT FIT IN A CUP HOLDER IN BACK OF ME, & THE STRAW WRAPPED AROUND FRONT ( I HAVE A PICTURE ON A SCRAPBOOK PAGE CALLED“JENNY’S WAY”–HTTP://WWW.JENANNLYNN.ORG/?PAGE_ID=648 ).

THEN I GOT STRONG ENOUGH 2 HOLD MY OWN CUPS, SO I WOULD HOLD THE CUP THEY USED 2 SQUIRT WATER IN MY MOUTH, CUZ IT HAD A STRAW, BUT THE PLASTIC WAS SOFT ENOUGH 2 SQUEEZE (I ACTUALLY LIFT IT 2 MY BELLY, & SUPPORT IT W/MY BELLY. LOL –WHICH IS HARDER 2 DO, IF I AM THINNER!) & AT RESTURANTS, WE TRY 2 BRING MY CUP, BUT IF WE FORGET, ANY CUP W/A STRAW WILL WORK, BUT IT’S BEST IF IT HAS A LID. HERE’S THE CUP—BUT THEY STOPPED MAKING THE PINT SIZE THAT I USE, & NOW DO A HUGE, QUART SIZE! SO, I’M CURRENTLY SHOPPING…LOL:

YES, THEY CAN TRANSFER ME TO A SMALL CHAIR THAT ROLLS DOWN THE AISLE… WE TRIED IT ONCE. I HATED IT, CUZ I HAVE LIMBS THAT ARE, IN A SENSE, “PARALYZED” (LEFT ARM & LEG), CUZ I CAN’T MOVE THEM, BUT I FEEL THEM JUST FINE…SO THOSE LIMBS WOULD FALL OFF & GET HURT. SO MY HUSBAND CARRIES ME ON FIRST, & WE SIT IN THE 1ST ROW. (I AM SO SPOILED!) & EITHER A KID OR STEWARDESS PUTS MY W/C CUSHION ON THE SEAT (OR MY BUTT WOULD KILL!)

BUT WE RARELY FLY, CUZ I CAN’T HAVE MY GOOD POWER CHAIR.
IT TILTS & ELEVATES, BUT WEIGHS LIKE 300 POUNDS, SO MY DEAR HUSBAND DRIVES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY SO I CAN HAVE MY CHAIR, W/O IT BEING DESTROYED BY THE AIRLINES) WHEN WE FLEW, I USED 2 BE STUCK IN A MANUAL CHAIR AT THE MERCY OF OTHERS, UNTIL A GLORIOUS DAY WHEN I FOUND A SUPER CHEAP, COLLAPIBLE POWER CHAIR ON EBAY FOR $100! IT DOESN’T TILT (WHICH PREVENTS PRESSURE SORES), BUT I HAVE A SUPER ROHO CUSHION, & IF I NEED 2 CHANGE THE ANGLE, I EITHER PULL MYSELF FORWARD, OR MK OFFERS 2 STAND ME UP.