Peg’s husband, Scott, had severe Wernicke’s aphasia. She enjoyed the time to herself each day, but particularly learning how to help Scott continue to get better.
My name is Peg Garber, and we’re from Lancaster Pennsylvania, and my husband is Scott.
What was Scott like before his stroke?
Well, he was a quiet man. He only talks when he has something important to say. We’ve been together 50 years, so I really know what he’s thinking. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have to talk so much anymore.
So he was a quiet man, but very intelligent, and the jobs he had often required problem-solving. And even in a bank, a lot of money, and fat figures. He didn’t lose that. He kept, I mean, a lot is still difficult, but we were shocked early on to find out that he could still add and subtract, and and use logic in a good way.
What types of changes have you had to make in your daily life, because of aphasia?
For me, personally as a caregiver the changes have been that I feel like I have to do everything myself, because he doesn’t understand my request. He is the type of husband that wants to help me all the time, and ask constantly ‘can I do anything for you?’. And I’ve pulled back somewhat because I know that my requests will go not understood, and then he gets frustrated.
He has improved in that area, because I’ve learned was to, through the program to help him figure out what to say. And while it might not be completely accurate, for instance writing down three choices, and him being able to pick the right one, gets us a whole lot further than we were before. Then I know the topic that were on, and we can move on from there.