Skip to main content

I had an appointment with my Speech Rehab specialist today...

She said that I should not be ashamed of the fact that I have to write things down or use a datebook...most people use them and never think twice about it. She also said that I am doing remarkably well...having said that, she is confident that I will NOT need to see her anymore. So, she took me off all restrictions which means that I can eat anything (that is not a no-no because of my Coumadin), and said that I should be able to adapt to any situation that arises due to my speech or short-term memory.

I did also get some good and bad news from the patient rep. at the VA. She said that VA policies are different for admit and for transport. Because of that, the VA is going to take care of my ER visit locally and they will take care of the Des Moines VA bill, but the transport between Knoxville and Des Moines will be my responsibility. Why they will take care of the ER visit but not the Ambulance trip that they asked for is beyond me, but they do not cover it. The good news is that the VA has agreed to take care of the ambulance ride to and from Des Moines Methodist. The reason given to the patient rep. is that  the care given at the local hospital was available to me at the Des Moines VA, the care at Des Moines Methodist was not, so they will cover one trip and not the other. Clear as mud now? Same here.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Does it get any worse than a stroke? Yes

On December 8, 2008, my life changed forever. I had a double sided cerebellar stroke with 2 brain stem compressions. It was not until December 10, 40 hours after my stroke, that surgery was finally done to relieve the pressure. Dr. Piper, the neuro-surgeon from Iowa Methodist hospital in Des Moines, told my wife that surgery was nothing more than an attempt to save my life, but that it would not erase the deficiencies as a result of the stroke. Although she admits that she did not really understand what Dr. Piper had just said, my wife, Laura, agreed to the surgery and the care team performed a decrompessive craniotomy, to hopefully relieve the pressure and allow my brain to function somewhat normally. For those who have followed my blog for the last 14+ years, the surgery was successful, I returned to the church and I now live a relatively normal life, although I do have some pretty severe, though not always visible, defieciencies. I really thought that life could not get any worse th

Sometimes I forget...and sometimes I just have a problem putting words together

It has been almost 15 years since my stroke, so you would think that, by now, I would be readily prepared for everything that life can throw my way; but, I often forget what it's like to have a simple head cold after my stroke. Now, understand, I am not suggesting that other people don't feel bad when they have a cold; it is just that it is different for a stroke survivor. Maybe some of the other stroke survivors feel the same way: many times when I get a head cold with the congestion, suffy nose, fever, etc., it begins to feel like I'm having a stroke again. For those who don't know what this is like, let me try to explain. I get up at night, whether to go to the bathroom or some other reason, and I feel completely disoriented for a few seconds. Not like I'm groggy, but that I feel the room is spinning, I can't tell which direction I am going, I forget where the bathroom is for an instant, things like that. On the first day of this last cold, I was going down

A little lethargic the last couple of days....

The last couple days I have been really, unusual. I don't know exactly how to describe it. I'm tired all the time. No matter how long I sleep at night I never seem to get enough sleep. The last few days I have noticed that my eyes have been acting a little weird. I tried to explain it to someone but it is like I just can't find the words to describe it right. It is worse when I have to change my focus, when I am looking at one thing and then have to change the focus to something else it seems as though it takes just a fraction of a second to refocus. Now, a fraction of a second does not seem bad until you are driving; then it can be pretty problematic. I also noticed that I seem to get a little dizzy when I stand up. It is not something that really bothers me, but it is a little irritating. It is not bad enough that I think "Oh, no, not this again." But it is something I notice. I don't know, perhaps it is because tomorrow will be the 2 year anniversary of the