If you're just coming to this blog for the first time, PLEASE READ THIS POST for Uma and John's story. Also, Burglars of Hamm is doing their awesome show "Easy Targets" as a fundraiser for Uma on June 22 (at the Sacred Fools, who have generously donated their theater space) and I'll post more info about that night when I have it. Very exciting!
p.s. If you haven't seen Uma & John's wedding video, check it out HERE. It's long but it really shows their love story and the beginning of Uma's road to recovery.
Everyone,
It's been awhile since I wrote. I realized the other night that the reason I haven't is because I've been feeling so normal, and relieved. I haven't felt this since of well being in over four years.
Uma is doing very, very well at Core. I think this type of help for her was exactly what was missing.
What I saw two week ago there was her deep in the process of finding herself, of discovering who she is in the present time and how to deal with, accept, and improve upon what she has in her life now.
She always arrives for therapy on time or early, always has her notebook with her, can't wait for the work to begin. She sees this as the absolute recovery of her life and so do I.
Her walking, balance and endurance are better than earlier this year. Her hand therapy is very aggressive and implements some of the techniques that the people in Berkeley, use. Her sentence structure when speaking and all of her word-finding is improving very quickly. I completely expected this out of her.
What I didn't expect to see was her encouraging the other clients. As I said in a previous email, some of these people are tremendously banged up: motorcycle, car, military accident etc. and they are, for the most part, alone. Many of these people have family but they don't come to visit. A lot of these people have lost hope.
At the carnival I saw Uma get (ok - force) one of the girls in a wheelchair to do the egg walk with her. She rallied a staff member to push the girl through the walk. At one therapy session I heard her say to a discouraged client, "You mean you just want to watch TV for the rest of your life?" He replied, "Yeah....who cares?" Uma tilted her head to one side and said, "Awww come on....there's more to.....to......it than that! You have to DO stuff!"
A few days ago she said to me, "When I come home I want to do something meaningful...."
One of the most important things she's learning is to see how her minds operates. She can look into the future at specific events to come and is learning to prepare herself mentally, emotionally, and physically for them. This was missing for her. Again, it's one of those things most of us take for granted, one of those things she lost and is regaining.
There's no denying that this recovery is going to take a long time. The only thing exponential or immediate about Uma's stroke recovery was the fund-raising. You all need to see that for what is was: a miracle. You who donated actively took part in a miracle of altruism. It went very, very well.
We have enough to take her through about the middle of July. I'll know more for sure in about a week at the next staff conference for Uma, but I'm guessing she'll need to be there at least until the end of September. I"m still working on all aspects of getting the funds together and infinitely appreciate your generosity.
I don't think I could've imagined a recovery process more suited to her injury than where she is now. Thanks from my heart for putting her there.
Love,
It's been awhile since I wrote. I realized the other night that the reason I haven't is because I've been feeling so normal, and relieved. I haven't felt this since of well being in over four years.
Uma is doing very, very well at Core. I think this type of help for her was exactly what was missing.
What I saw two week ago there was her deep in the process of finding herself, of discovering who she is in the present time and how to deal with, accept, and improve upon what she has in her life now.
She always arrives for therapy on time or early, always has her notebook with her, can't wait for the work to begin. She sees this as the absolute recovery of her life and so do I.
Her walking, balance and endurance are better than earlier this year. Her hand therapy is very aggressive and implements some of the techniques that the people in Berkeley, use. Her sentence structure when speaking and all of her word-finding is improving very quickly. I completely expected this out of her.
What I didn't expect to see was her encouraging the other clients. As I said in a previous email, some of these people are tremendously banged up: motorcycle, car, military accident etc. and they are, for the most part, alone. Many of these people have family but they don't come to visit. A lot of these people have lost hope.
At the carnival I saw Uma get (ok - force) one of the girls in a wheelchair to do the egg walk with her. She rallied a staff member to push the girl through the walk. At one therapy session I heard her say to a discouraged client, "You mean you just want to watch TV for the rest of your life?" He replied, "Yeah....who cares?" Uma tilted her head to one side and said, "Awww come on....there's more to.....to......it than that! You have to DO stuff!"
A few days ago she said to me, "When I come home I want to do something meaningful...."
One of the most important things she's learning is to see how her minds operates. She can look into the future at specific events to come and is learning to prepare herself mentally, emotionally, and physically for them. This was missing for her. Again, it's one of those things most of us take for granted, one of those things she lost and is regaining.
There's no denying that this recovery is going to take a long time. The only thing exponential or immediate about Uma's stroke recovery was the fund-raising. You all need to see that for what is was: a miracle. You who donated actively took part in a miracle of altruism. It went very, very well.
We have enough to take her through about the middle of July. I'll know more for sure in about a week at the next staff conference for Uma, but I'm guessing she'll need to be there at least until the end of September. I"m still working on all aspects of getting the funds together and infinitely appreciate your generosity.
I don't think I could've imagined a recovery process more suited to her injury than where she is now. Thanks from my heart for putting her there.
Love,
John
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