As much as her body needs rest, I really think her brain does too. We take so much of what we do for granted. Take a swallow of something right now (even if it’s just your spit). Easy, right? Not so fast. You have to involve your tongue, your lips, your throat and other muscles (sorry – I don’t know all the parts), time it with your breathing AND make sure you close your airway to keep it from going down your windpipe. That’s not even eating food! This is just for controlling the saliva you’re accumulating. What about talking? You have to process what someone is saying to you and come up with the appropriate response. After that, you have to form the words to say them out loud. Even then, the words don’t just come out. You have to remember to inhale and speak on the exhale. I’m getting tired just writing about this. You (hopefully) get the picture.
Every single thing that mom is doing requires thought. The brain stem is what controls basic function, including breathing and swallowing. She’s having to relearn just about everything. In addition to that, her body is getting quite a workout too. OF COURSE she’s exhausted!
Today it seems that her exhaustion is getting the best of her. She only had OT for about 30 minutes today. She has had a few visitors planned for today but we’ve been letting her rest for the most part. No one is expecting her to participate in a conversation. Today’s visitors are content to just be there with her. She’s not in great spirits today and still cannot see the progress that she has made so far. I think she’s thinking about how far she has to go to get back to the way she was and is completely overwhelmed. I try to explain to her that we have to look at this differently, but it’s not what she wants to hear. I have to have faith that as her body and brain continue to heal and her medicine kicks in she will start to see the progress she’s making. I have so much hope and faith in her abilities to recover. I am seeing movement where I didn’t think it was possible. She has already proven several doctors wrong. I want her to keep working at this so she proves them ALL wrong. It really is all up to her though. All I can do is ask but ultimately she’s the one who has to do the work and fight for it.
Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We need to get over this mental hurdle. Once she clears it, I know that she’ll be well on her way.