Day 9: Exhaustion Never Ends

I've got much to write... but figured I had to start somewhere, so I might as well start with today.

Each day since Liam's stroke my thoughts on his progress vary.  On one hand - he was able to physically walk out of the hospital just four days after having a stroke.  Then, the next day he pulled himself up on a swing and was swinging!  Swinging! 

My biggest concern isn't the motor function (which I was told by the neurologist he would recover) - my biggest concern is his speech and language.  Before this my Liam was a talker.

Now.  Our house is so quiet and Quinn isn't picking up the slack. 

Today we saw all three therapists for the first time that will be working with him.  [Speech, Occupational (OT), and Physical (PT)]  All three were impressed with how well he was doing for being so soon after a stroke.  Well, from what I remember the PT and OT expressed how impressed they were.

Liam has trouble recalling words.  This is called: aphasia.

Liam - after 3 hours of therapy.

By the end of the day I am exhausted. Exhausted from watching him sit silently in the car.  Exhausted from listening to him struggle to find the right word for pictures in books.  Exhausted from saying "Show me." when he struggles to tell me what he wants.  Exhausted from wondering if his brain will fully recover and the aphasia will only be a distant memory for us all.  Exhausted from looking for neurologists for a second opinion.  Exhausted from reading about any new and unfamiliar words that have been introduced into my vocabulary.  Just plain exhausted.  I sleep well at night and wake up refreshed and ready to go.  But by 7:00 I've had enough.