I'd like You to Meet "Aphasia"

When We First Met

Aphasia affects around a quarter of all stroke sufferers, and means they experience problems with speaking or understanding what is said to them, or both. As a result, even the simplest daily tasks, such as shopping or making a phone call, may be difficult or impossible.

My new husband, Bruce, often uses the term "I can't read and write like I used to" whenever he can't say what he wants to say. Generally, the misunderstanding or miscommunication has absolutely nothing to do with reading and writing. In speaking, it means he cannot put words to cognitive thought. When listening, it means he cannot generate a cognitive thought from the words he is hearing. This is a simplified explanation of living with aphasia. (I should emphasize that he cannot read or write like he used to. He has yet to achieve even a first grade reading level.)

Aphasia makes it difficult to read, write, speak, or understand speech. It impairs language comprehension and expression. It often doesn't affect "thinking" and "intelligence", only language. It's as though the sufferer is suddenly in a foreign-speaking country.

When I met Bruce, nearly six years ago, he had recovered a minimally functioning vocabulary at best. He had gone through about four years of speech therapy and had spent about two years without additional help. I was working as a Pharmacy Technician when I first encountered this man - the angriest, most stressful and uncooperative customer I had ever met. He suffered obviously from both physical and speech impairment. His right arm was drawn up close to his chest in nearly a seizure posture. He walked with a limp that was very pronounced and made his progress to the counter very slow. His face was contorted in anger and frustration, with tightly squinted eyebrows and a wizened brow. The other employees ran when they saw him coming. This was my first encounter. They hid and watched.