Author: LT

Mum’s had a couple of bad falls recently, the worst of which was on Friday last week. It seems she’s been falling asleep constantly: a phenomenon they’re putting down to tiredness and possible sleep apneoa rather than something a little more exotic like narcolepsy. (Although between you and me, that fact sheet kind of sounds like her; she’s even been known…

Last Monday,  I had time to look in on Mum’s OT session before heading back to Canberra after my rushed long weekend in Townsville She’s now having showering lessons twice a week but this session was about working on her left-side neglect and spatial awareness. Because of Mum’s teaching background, she tends to “cheat” on…

It’s been just over five months since Mum had her stroke and it’s been a long, frantic, uncertain and eventful time. Coming up to six months, I’m going to try to document the gains Mum has made in that time and to continue to update the blog more frequently. For now, Mum is the Sub-Acute Care Unit…

It was State of Origin last night; an annual event that I openly admit often passes me by. However, my sources in Townsville have leaked that Mum was given a leave pass last night for some SOO festivities. I have a photo as proof but am in negotiations with the source to come out publicly…

Both occupational therapy and speech therapy are more than just about learning and re-learning skills: both also include socialisation. A right-hemisphere stroke can have a significant impact on communication (I’m doing up a blog post on this at the moment and will publish soon) so organised social interaction is an extremely important therapy. Mum often  had…

Mum had a wonderful Mother’s Day thanks to friends and family and not one but two outings over the weekend. Saturday morning was “preparation day” when Mum got a trip to the “House of Hair Removal”, otherwise known as the beautician. In my gift post I recommended against pedicure/manicures/hair removal because of Mum’s neuropathic pain…

It’s Mother’s Day this weekend. Mum’s bound to have a great day but, after putting some thought into the issue of gifts, I realised there are a lot of things that simply aren’t practical for someone who’s had a stroke. So I thought I’d get together this blog post to outline some gift ideas. These…

Mum had a quiet weekend after her lignocaine treatment this week; being understandably tired after five infusions of an anaesthetic. She does report pain reduction after the treatment but unfortunately the neuropathic pain hasn’t been completely eliminated. Considering the varied evidence on a lignocaine infusion’s efficacy that’s probably not surprising but it’s still a little disappointing. One…

There’s pain, damn pain and then there’s neuropathic pain. And who of us can tell which is worse. The problem with pain is that we still don’t entirely understand it: its causes; our experiences of it; and often how to treat it. All we know is that, if somebody is suffering from it, it can be seriously…

Mum had a very special Easter Sunday yesterday. SACU had approved a leave pass (or “parole”) for Mum; not just for Easter Sunday but also for her sister’s birthday. She was picked up by a taxi at 10:30am and went to Aunty Deirdre’s house for a Greek style lamb lunch. Mum, of course, loves lamb…