Busy, busy day today. We started with speech therapy and Mark did really well. The therapist was testing him so he can determine what direction to take his treatment. The homework we had this last week was pretty difficult for Mark. He was given famous phrases and one or two words were left out and he was supposed to fill in the correct word. He couldn't get any of them. I don't think he recognized the phrases, so he had no idea what he was supposed to do. Phrases such as: Time ____ all wounds. Look before you ____. Common things that anyone should know are missing from his database. He also struggled with determining what two objects have in common. For instance: table and horse both have _____. Plane and bird both have ____. He couldn't figure it out. And he's embarrassed that he can't. He apologizes for me having to help him with his homework and that he's not as smart as me. He is still wondering when I'm going to reach my limit and "dump him for someone better".
We had a quick lunch and were back for his driving evaluation. This was a 2 1/2 hour process, so I left him there and went & ran some errands. When I got there to pick him up, the occupational therapist went over his testing with me. He took some cognitive thinking tests and visual cognitive tests. She said he obviously struggles because of the language deficiency. He did ok on the tests and very well on the driving. He struggled with understanding the directions she was giving him. Not physical directions, but understanding what she wanted him to do, both on the written tests and driving. She said she needed to talk to the rehab doc to see what he thinks about his abilities. Right now it's more about his thinking and processing abilities than his actual physical driving abilities. He was a little bummed she didn't give him a thumbs-up, but I prepared him well for that possiblity. He said he was so frustrated and embarrassed that he almost started crying during the test. I can't tell you how much that hurts my heart. It's difficult to watch someone who was vibrant, confident, strong and fully functioning be reduced to a quiet, unsure, weak and feeble human being. I know it frustrates the hell out of him and it breaks my heart.
Blessing of the Day: unconditional love
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