One very often asked question from a stroke survivor is "Will I ever recover 100% and when?". Rock used to asked herself and me this question. As a husband-caregiver, I find that question hard to answer! I was advised that I must not give false hopes but at the same time must have a positive attitude! I guess if you are an employed caregiver, then it is easier to state cold hard facts. Stroke Survivors have a great need for someone to give them answers to daily practical living questions like:-
- Why am I so sad and emotional ?
- When will I feel not a burden to the family ?
- Will I get over the anger and grief that I feel ?
- What about the clumsiness; emptiness, the forgetfulness ?
As a caregiver, I learned the importance of being able to listen to all these heart wrenching questions! Also learned ways to say things and things never to say! One good example is the statement "I know you will get better", simply because you will never know that for sure! What happens if the stroke survivor does not get any better? He or she will feel betrayed! It is better to be honest but say it in a kind way than to give false hope, even if you mean not to lay upon his or her frayed emotions!
So fellow caregivers, well meaning family members, do give some time to those who are handicapped either due to stroke or other ailments. Your visits and presence will assure them that you care!
I came across this funny article some time back in our local newspapers. It was about the experience of an expat lady from the West who took her car to a workshop for a check-up because she experienced difficulty in controlling her car.
After some time later, the mechanic who was a Chinese of Cantonese descend explained to her in the following manner :
Problem was that your tyres had no flower, so cannot eat the road!
To my English speaking fellow bloggers, perhaps you find that totally mind boggling! What did he meant by that? Well, in simple English it just means that the tyres were worn-out hence poor grip on the road!
That much for flowers and eating! My wife Rock enjoys all these Chinese English Jokes and the word 'Chinglish' really originated from my neighboring country Singapore! Rock used to laugh herself sick whenever we passed along this shop in Kuching, Sarawak which is in East Malaysia. The shop's sign board was called 'Human Trading'. What I guessed it really wanted to mean is Humane Trading which of course to an Englishman is already wierd!
As for me, my most unforgetably hilarious sign-board belonged to a car-wash shop in Bangkok. The name of this car-wash shop was "Puki Service". I will not explain this for the sake of the ladies blogger but if you are Malaysian or even understand the Malay Language you know what it means! That actually was the name of the owner of the car-wash by the way.
So keep smiling and looking around wherever you go for I am sure you will have your funny sign-boards too!
February 14th is round the corner and the air around the city is abuzz with Love Themes, Roses, Carnations ( included this because just visited a fellow blogger who says she likes Carnations ) Gifts and what have you nowadays! That reminds me of some blogger did a piece on Love and asked What is Love? I wonder about that too!
Learned from someone that people express and perceive love in 5 basic ways! Check which category you belong.
- Touch - in a good way it means.
- Gifts - most popular on Valentine's Day but do include ordinary mundane days too.
- Encouragement - pretty self-explanatory.
- Acts of Service - like taking the rubbish out, mending the fence, for ladies!
- Words of Affirmation - Praise when situation merits it
I guess no one can say any particular category but rather a mixture of a few or perhaps all the categories. I guess a Gift is always appreciated. As a parent I use Gifts to bribe my children as well as say I love you too! So how about giving your love ones a Teddy Bear? It is an Icon of cuddly warmth, companionship, expression of I am there for you! Wow!
Today, my friend Franco launched his website at http://www.100teddybear.com I find Teddy Bears fascinating and as long as I can remember they managed to capture the hearts and minds of children world wide and perhaps one of the favorite toys a kid has. I remember that when I was a kid, my dad bought me a Teddy Bear and I kept it for 15 years before it finally gave-up the ghost and fell apart due to wear and tear! also my sleeping partner!
Franco's teddy is called Eeooh! a handmade Teddy and I think it is one of its kind world wide! Do visit his website and have a look at the various Themes, Eeooh has to offer and especially the Valentine's Day Theme titled Precious as shown in picture above. There are also Dream, Lunar, Family etc. I must be one of his first customer for I ordered Eeooh for my pal's kid Clayton! Just thinking perhaps get one for Rock on Valentine's Day! Perhaps you may have your own story about your Teddy! Who doesn't?
When my wife rock had a stroke, I recognized the symptoms and immediately rushed her to a hospital. Thank God that when that happened we were in a car and I was driving. I have read about these signs but never really care too much about them. I am sure many people out there may not have read much about these signs. It is good to know and who knows perhaps you could save someone's life by recognizing the signs and get a doctor quickly. So here are the so call Warning Signs given by Stroke Connection USA.
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
Do take not of the above and perhaps someone's life depended on them.
