I plan to finish the story, of the day of the stroke-March 1st, 2008... on March 1st 2010. I figured it was appropriate, being that it will be our 2yr. anniversary of "Jilly's Live Day". Most probably wonder what I mean by Live Day... well, in the military... when a soldier has a near death experience, and survives it... they call it a "Live Day". I figure that Jilliann deserves a day of her own, to call her "LIVE DAY", so March 1st it is!!!
I wanted to talk a little about one of the effects of the stroke: Jilly's stroke area, hit a bundle of nerves that give and receive messages. I was told in the beginning, that not only did she loose the use of her left side... but she no longer felt, or received messages from that side. As Jilly slowly regained use of her left side, one of my questions was: is she regaining feeling of that left side. The answer is a bit unclear, with a young child... as they cannot tell you what they feel, nor do they remember what "normal" felt like. So, I asked older kids... what it was like for them. I was told that typically, as they regain use... they also regain feeling, "in some sort of way". What I mean by that is, it may not feel "normal", but they do feel. That is obvious, with Jilliann... as she feels pain with a shot, or some other type of uncomfortable effect to the left side. But, the question is... does it feel normal over there? What I have learned is, at least in Jilly's case: that the problem area, is how that side of the body feels "in space". The signal to the brain, has a road block... the brain learns to compensate with other areas... but it does not mean, it is a normal connection. When we take a step... our brain automatically tells us exactly where we placed our foot... a stroke pt. may not feel that exactly right. Our experience with this is: that it makes Jilliann nervous... I think of it as if I was trying to walk steps in the dark, with no railing to hold on to... I would feel nervous, not seeing the next step... just as Jilly feels nervous, not feeling her step. I think the biggest reaction to that, we see with Jilly is, that she gets upset and cries... if she is set off balance in any way! An example is: we just bought a little ride in car by little tikes: the Coupe... we imagined her loving it... as she loves to be put in a clothes basket and pushed around a room. Well, it did not go as imagined... it was heart breaking to see: the slightest movement as she was excitedly climbing into the car... has scared her to the point, of not being able to get in it. She desperatly wants to, she will put her upper body in it, or she will stick her feet in through the door... but she can not bring herself, to put her full weight in it and depend on it for safety! The tears welled up inside of me, as I watched her cry... devestated at wanting to do it, but couldn't. Luckily, Jilly will overcome this (at least I think she will, as she usually doesn't give up). So far today, there is no tears... but she still cannot get in it. The day she accomplishes it, I WILL post a picture!!!
Please post comments, on your experience with this issue! Thanks for listening!
HEART/STROKE HUGS!!!
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