Communication

On "tax day" of 2005, I married a stroke survivor with aphasia. As defined by the National Aphasia Association, "aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and most people with aphasia experience difficulty reading and writing."

Some stroke survivors have described aphasia as the feeling we all get from time to time when "the word is right there, on the tip of our tongue." For moderately to severely affected aphasics, it happens with nearly every word.

Cognitive thoughts process in the aphasic's brain at the same level of comprehension as before the stroke. However, the stroke survivor struggles to associate words with those thoughts and then to get those words out in any resemblance of the original thought.

One of my earliest submissions to Associated Content was "Aphasia is Not Near Fantasia", which invited the reader to ride along for a few moments and explore the language of aphasia. We have rejoiced in much improvement since 2005 and my husband is now employed by Target in the Garden Center. It is a dream come true that exceeds his wildest expectations.

The stories of aphasics are as different as the people affected. My marketing push for that first article put me in touch with an even more remarkable couple living on "Planet Aphasia". Jean Riva began to share the humorous and touching stories of her husband for which she earned a prestigious AC People's Media Award for 2007.

This year, to call awareness to aphasia and to celebrate our third year of marriage, I have written a poem I have titled "Communication"

If words were all we had
How little we could say.
Your eyes they speak, your hands
a touch, a tear, a glance my way.

If words were all we had
How empty time could be.
A warm embrace, a brush
of cheek, a kiss, a sigh for me.

If words were all we had
How lonely space would be.
A rush, a wind, a clasp
of hand, a squeeze, a dance with me.

If words were all we had
Sad parted we would be.
A prayer, a soul, as two
in one, all ways, all time with thee.