The Bob Speaks! Yes, He Does!

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Dear Friends and Family,
Click on the play button, turn on your speakers, and hear Bob's voice. 

  Bob continues to make tremendous progress over time - - just what we want to hear! He truly is my hero because of his never ending efforts to recover, and believe me, it is hard, hard work. Who knew that  a stroke could be so devastating to one's body but never to his spirit. Although Bob struggles to walk, talk, and move his body, he never complains or even hints at giving up. And he is still kind, sweet, and appreciative. That we could all be so brave.

  We wanted to SAY thank all of you for your continuous prayers and words of encouragement.  It means so much to know that you still hold a special place in your hearts for us . . . and believe me, we need ALL of your positive thoughts. So, please keep them coming.

  And now, a special thanks to Bob's "A-TEAM" for helping Bob reactivate his brain, believing that Bob could improve, inspiring hope in us, and for helping our hearts through this very difficult time. We love you Therapists Summer, Rachelle, Cynthia, Rick, et.al.

  And then to Bob's Incredible Cadre of Caregivers: Shadi, Bill, Josh, Terri Taco, Jeanie, Robin, Sonia, Jeff, Sandy & Frank, Mom & Dad:  We can't say thank you enough for giving up your time and changing your lives to help me and Bob. Folks don't know that you've literally given up days/weeks/months of your lives to help us so that I'm able to return to work. Because of all of you, Bob and I have been able to resume a new normal to our lives. Caregiving is very demanding including helping Bob dress, fixing his (and my meals), doing our laundry, walking/exercising/massaging him, reading aloud, practicing speech activities, driving him to/from therapy and then being his personal cheerleader through his treatments. And you do all this without expecting a thing from us. So know that we say thank you, thank you, we love you and we appreciate you!

Happy New Year!

With our deepest thanks,

Sharon & Bob  

Bob Hates Sharon's Driving! WAHHHH! And a New Miracle!

Hi there,

Okay, so we all know that Bob does NOT like my driving and that he used to say that he drove better than me under ANY condition.  Well, now that he can't drive,he's dependent on me (poor guy) and his dislike of my driving is VERY open. Now, I don't think it's THAT bad but Bob REALLY hates it to the point that he manifests his feelings by gripping the upholstery, sputtering at me, and gives me directions (YES, YES, NO, NO). 

OMG, it was getting on my one good nerve and really hurt my feelings so for a while I told him to close his eyes or cover his face with his pillow or jacket and plug his ear. He resorted to burying his head in his pillow or pulling a bag (what bag, any bag) over his head but that just doesn't look good when we're tooling down the freeway. So, yesterday, I gave him my sleeping mask, and by george, I think we're on to something. I kid you not, he put the mask on on IMMEDIATELY when he got into the car with me to and from Nancy's for New Year's Dinner (and he didn't care if it was on right either). Then, he quietly white knuckles it where ever we go and yes, no sputtering at me. It's not beautiful but it does save our relationship and we get where we need to be.   

Here's Bob's newest miracle: He can do math! When Bob was in the hospital, Michele Douglas gave Bob a math game with all of the operations. Well, he couldn't do them then or even last month when I'd try. On New Year's Eve, I brought the cards and asked Bob if he wanted to try. So I put the first problem up (a multi-operation word problem) and he solved it mentally AND gave the correct answer. So, we tried 12 more! OMG-he read them aloud, then did them mentally and selected the correct answer (and I needed paper and pencil to do them). It was the best! Thanks, Michele. We're doing about 10 per day, now. Keep those prayers for a million small miracle coming!


Happy New Year, Y'all!

Warmly,

Sharon