Good morning, my lovely muses. This post and the following comic are very personal, so it would mean the world to me if you'd take a moment of your time to read all of this.
Two months ago, my mom had a stroke. When it happened, and for several days after, she could only form and say the word "no". She knew in her mind what specific things she wanted to say, but couldn't physically get any of the words out. slowly, she re-learned how to say "I love you". Today, she's able to speak in slow, sometimes slurred, but complete sentences! With patience, she is able to slowly sound out difficult words after only a few tries!
My mom has told me personally that her aphasia has made her feel changed. Broken. Like a failure. She gets very frustrated at times when she can't get certain sentences out. She gets justifiably upset when extra sounds in a room confuse her train of thought. She struggles to spell a lot of words she used to know. We've shared many tears and moments of vulnerability together when she expressed her fears that she may never be the same again. She works hard every day to heal her brain bit by bit and practice all the words she can to expand her vocabulary, and I couldn't be more proud of her. This comic is basically about my mom herself.
Aphasia isn't something to be ashamed of, but it's a very frustrating and scary experience to go through. It's being trapped in your own mind, knowing what you want to say, but being unable to physically make the words come out right. It's knowing that the words "and", "if", & "or" are simple words you've known all your life, but now you don't know how to spell them; now it's a struggle to put those specific letters together in your mind, much less on paper or text. It's having to train your mouth and throat to purposely form sounds and syllables in specific ways to make halfway coherent speech. It's feeling vulnerable CONSTANTLY because your condition is on full display every time you open your mouth.
I went to an aphasia support group with my mom (and dad) and we learned a lot while we were there. She didn't want to go at first, but when we got there, she was able to speak freely at her own pace to feel truly seen and understood by the others there. One of the things discussed was how a multitude of sounds (like at a concert, a party, or any social gathering with multiple people speaking at once) can confuse, upset, and overwhelm those suffering with aphasia who are trying to form thoughts and communicate with others.
There are actually specific ear plugs you can buy online (Loop ear plugs) that purposely muffle specific types of sound so that focus and communication are easier! Even as someone on the autism spectrum myself, they're meant to help *anyone* with issues having too much sound around them!
This comic highlights a few things:
1) The struggle to focus on saying certain words when one has aphasia
2) The importance of practicing PATIENCE and EMPATHY when communicating with a person who has aphasia
3) The importance of offering genuine assistance and SUPPORT to those who have aphasia
I truly hope with this post, this comic, and this insight, that you all are able to learn a bit about this condition and how to respectfully communicate with and support anyone with aphasia. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to anyone who's taken the time to read all this. please feel free to share this comic to spread awareness. ❤️ You never know who in your life may one day be affected by aphasia.
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