October 7th, 2005
Journal
September 4, 2005
I woke up this morning and the sun was shining through my window. I used to love to wake up on mornings like this because I would go jogging in the park, but now it makes me want to just lay in bed. If it wasn’t for Mary I probably would have done just that today. But like always she had me up and moving by 7. I didn’t have to be at speech therapy until 11am but it takes longer for us to get everything together since my stroke. I enjoy speech therapy because the speech therapist seems to really understand how I’m feeling, she is very supportive and tries to help in anyway she can. Today she even worked with Mary. She was giving her tips on how to make communicating with me easier. During therapy I tried so hard. I got really frustrated with myself because I knew I was not saying things correctly. They were right in my head, but when I tried to say them they just would not come out the way I wanted. By the time I got home I was so exhausted I had to take nap.
November 24, 2005
Today was Thanksgiving so the kids and their families came over for dinner. I was really glad to see everyone. It was hard to feel included in the conversations though. They often would ask Mary questions that should have been directed to me. I still understand what is going on, it is just hard for me to get my thoughts out. I wish they would be more patient with me. At one point Suzy said “Why’s grandpa talk so funny?” I tried to pretend this didn’t bother me, but I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. I sat down to watch football with Mike after dinner. It had been our tradition since he was little. This year it was a little awkward because for the majority of the time we sat in silence. I couldn’t even cheer when my favorite team scored a touchdown. The game ended a little while ago and everyone went home. I was sad to see them leave, but I am exhausted.
sirk4
Audience: General audience
Say Back: The author was describing how a man who has suffered a stroke and has aphasia feels when he was around his family. The author was telling about how his family did not think he understood what they were saying. The author also described the way the patient's life had changed since his stroke.
Bless: The sentence, "They often would ask Mary questions that should have been directed to me," was really good. That was a wonderful sentence to include because that happens so often, and it does make that person feel poorly. You did a good job at describing that.
Address: You mentioned the speech therapist several times, but didn't really explain what the therapist was doing to help the client. You could include what tips the speech therapist gave his wife to help her communicate with him. You may also want to describe the client's speech so that others can get a better grasp on what the speech of someone with Broca's aphasia is like.
Miller216
Audience: The audience is the client because it is a personal journal.
Say back: The first entry discusses the change in his daily routine that the client has noticed since his stroke. It also talks about how his wife has been providing much assistance to him regarding his daily activities and his therapy. The second entry talks about the client’s family visiting for thanksgiving and the reactions they have toward his disabilities.
Bless: Very creative and detailed. Both these entries seem very valid as possible reflections of someone with Broca’s apashia.
Address: A small grammatical error in the last sentence of the first entry might need attention, ”By the time I got home, I had to take nap.”. Also, there are a couple of places in the first entry that could use commas.
In the last entry, there’s a small grammatical error in the final sentence. The entire entry is written in past tense, but the final sentence reads in present tense.