Press forward

I keep on keeping on. I talked to a cardiolgist about closing the hole in my heart and we will probably do the surgery at the end of March.

My speech therapy is going well I get frustrated at times but so does my mom and even the therapist... those tests are tough.

I feel pretty sick lately flu like and exhausted. Luckily I am home during this crash and not at school it's easier with my family there to make me laugh and fetch me stuff such as ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream I love candy/junk food. I LOVE IT. I feel sick much of the time but I still don't have the strength to say no to sugar in all of its delicious forms. especially ...

Cadburry mini eggs

I spent $10.00 on these fantastic morsels today and kind of wish I had bought more. The next time I will be able to buy these is at Christmas time. Do you think this candy trial is supposed to teach me patience?

Last but not least I have figured out why pirates always look like this:

"arrrrr" They had a stroke

That is me trying my darndest to smile.

My Mom and I went to Pirate Island just to get that picture :)

Foward not backwards

Hello folks
Things are going pretty well. It is nice to be here with my family they are good at helping me plus the endless stroke jokes keep me laughing.

I started my outpatient therapy yesterday. My physical therapist doesn't even know what to do with me. I can do most everything that he asks me to. He couldn't believe that I had a stroke 3 weeks ago. Awesome!
My speech therapist is great she is going to help me strengthen my vocal cords, work on articulation, and my ability to pay attention. Not being able to pay attention is quite an experience for me. I have been known to study for hours at a time without a problem(just ask my roommates) now half an hour of reading a novel is a struggle. I have been working on it though and I think I am making progress.

The hardest thing at the moment is that this stroke thing has thrown me into a Dysautonomia crash. It hasn't been this hard to funtion since highschool. Luckily I have been through crashes before so I know what I need to do.

All things considered I am doing wonderfully. I'm sure I will continue going..." forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom."(the simpsons teehouse of horror season 8)

They call this the stroke smile

Cards from the people in my major

Stroke

Hello everyone, As most of you know I have been hanging out at the U of U! Thursday I guess I didn't want to go to school so I had a massive stroke and took a helicopter ride here. About 2 days ago I was deemed stable and now I have been sent to rehab. I want to thank my roommates, my family and friends for everything you have done and are doing for me. THANK YOU! In rehab I have been doing speech, occupational, and physical therapy all day, and it is hard. I also got to mak a new friend. His name is frank and he works here at the hospital. Tonight he snuck me me a chocolate shake.
Sometimes it's hard to think about how long this recovery is going to take but most of the time I am just in awe at how lucky I am.