Progress and Humor Sense

Things are definitely looking up.  Bobby's making incredible progress physically. Last week, after getting the go-ahead from Dr Fell, we hit the bike trail. It was a gorgeous day, unseasonable warm for January.  Twenty miles later, I'm embarrassed to say I was struggling to keep up! The exercise did us both a world of good, physically and emotionally.

Dr Fell also agreed that Bobby's speech impairment was "significant" and wrote orders for speech therapy, which will begin next week.  In the meantime, our friend Nancy, a former speech therapist, brought over a workbook so we could do some "home-schooling." Such overachievers we are! Nancy said he's already doing the most important thing, by continuing to engage in conversations about varied subjects, even if he doesn't get all the words right.

We also discussed the emotional & psychological issues associated with brain injury, and Dr Fell reassured us that what we're experiencing is all normal.  Frustration, anxiety and depression are to be expected and should resolve over time.  Interestingly, Bobby mentioned that he thought he had lost his "humor sense" (which was heartbreaking for me to hear since his sense of humor is one of the top three reasons I married him!).  Over the holidays, if someone shared a joke he didn't seem to "get it" or think it was very funny.  Dr Fell explained that humor is often based on word usage, sarcasm and irony, so it's understandable that things might not seem humorous.

Because of the risk of seizures, Bobby is on Keppra for probably a year. Dr Fell suggested that he not drive alone for a month. He can drive, but I should be in the car with him. To which Bobby replied, "Okay, but my half brain better driver than her drive." So much for the loss of a sense of humor.  It was hilarious, even if his humor is at my expense! And for the record, I'm not that bad of a driver. Just don't ask anyone who's ever driven with me.