Rochelle Anderson’s Blog

Rochelle is a stroke survivor with aphasia who writes a seasonal blog for MnCAN and submits frequent articles within the aphasia community about her experience with aphasia.  She shares a great perspective on what it is like to live with aphasia and tips for making life with aphasia more successful.

Spring Blog 2022

Spring is here and the colors are beautiful.  June is Aphasia Awareness Month.  Try to talk to someone about aphasia.  Get the word out.

1. Every year Courage Art at the Courage Center hosts the “Art of Possibilities” art show. This year I entered the contest. The open house is June 2 in Golden Valley.

2. I wrote a letter to the Editor for the Sun Sailor, May 5, 2022, edition.  This year’s was “Aphasia can be challenging.”

There were quite a few headlines when Bruce Willis recently announced he had aphasia and was stepping down from acting. Do you know what aphasia is?

Fifteen years ago I had a stroke. A blood clot went from my leg to the left side of my brain, and damaged my brain permanently. I now have aphasia which limits my ability to talk, read, and write.

Aphasia can show itself in many myriad ways. I know what I want to say, but it often comes out wrong. My friends know me, and realize if something doesn’t make sense they will ask me, and can understand what I am saying. Even though I have trouble talking, I am still intelligent. In some ways I feel like I am in a strange country and cannot understand the language.

I have many friends with aphasia. We are all different. Some can write better, some can understand better, some can read better than me. Robbinsdale Schools has adult education classes to help those with stroke and brain injury survivors, and I find these very helpful.

I do continue to get better year after year. For me, I can dictate on my phone since I can’t type or write. This allows me to write poetry. I have published a book with others that have aphasia and brain injury.

I know I am still getting better. Aphasia can be challenging. I am sad that Bruce Willis, and many others, have to also suffer from aphasia.

3. I have written poetry with several other people.   I think poetry has really improved my speech and language.  If you look at the photo you can see Clare’s artwork on the cover.  Email me if you are interested in purchasing one.

I hope everyone has a great summer!

The lunar eclipse (May 15, 2022)

Rochelle Anderson
Rochelleandersonaphasia@gmail.com

Winter Blog January 2022

The virus is still around.  Please be careful.

  1. I carved another Halloween pumpkin about poetry and aphasia. The first picture is Halloween night, and the second one is the first snow.

2.  I wrote a poem for the Support Network of the American Heart Association:

Aphasia and the Apple

Aphasia is like an apple

Fallen from a tree in a windstorm

Blackened, rotting, decomposing, worm- and ant-eaten

Without therapy, family, and friends, life is over

 

Another apple tree slowly grew taller in the sun

Fruit was ruby red, delicious, sweet, and tangy

When ripe, huge bite, breathtakingly juicy

Hard work and poetry bring another chance

 

Aphasia gets better, never giving up

3.  Clare and I did a PowerPoint about paintings based on the board game Masterpiece. We have presented it at the Robbinsdale aphasia class several times.   Clare did most of it since she knows a lot about art.  Talking about things helps improve our aphasia.  This is my favorite painting from the game, it reminds me of the TV show Green Acres.

Rochelle Anderson

rochelleandersonaphasia@gmail.com

Fall 2021 Blog

It is fall already.  I thought the leaves would not be as pretty this year because of the drought and hot weather this summer.  But, they were still pretty nice!

I am still trying to get better with my speech.  I hope you are also getting better.

1. In August, I did a crop art and a poem that were displayed in the  Goat Coffee House in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for 2 months.  Of course they are about aphasia.  Here is a picture of them.

2. The Minnesota State Fair came and went. Of course I submitted another crop art. Here it is.  I completed this in 2020, so maybe  you have already seen it.  Since there was no fair last year we could submit it this year.

3.  I have been writing poetry with several organizations and I decided I was going to take a class at the Loft to get better at poetry.  It was on zoom, and some classes worked with my  schedule. But I realized that I still have aphasia and trouble talking. It would be hard to attend a class where others wouldn’t understand me.  So I just bought some poetry textbooks for Kindle so I can read and hear it.  That has worked well.

4. For a while this summer the virus seemed to be getting better. I  met with two of my therapists to have dinner.  This is what one of  the therapists said about me and it made me happy:

     “Rochelle, I am so impressed with how well you speak and use strategies to figure out the word if it doesn’t come to you the first time.  You are such an inspiration!”

5. I wrote another Journey article from class.  It is a short story about  me talking with Stephen King and using the word aphasia.   I was  hoping  Stephen King would write back to me but he didn’t.  Oh well.  Email me if you want to see the submission and I will send it to you.

6. I go to Byerly’s a lot since it is close to me. When I go to a Twins game I bring sandwiches from home.  We usually buy deli meat, kettle fried chicken slices.  I take a paper order to the deli that my husband prints. When I recently went, the deli worker couldn’t speak English and I had aphasia.  So they couldn’t read the paper and I couldn’t explain it.  They ended up giving me the wrong type of meat. It was weird.

I am sure you all are a little bit sick of Zoom but maybe soon it will be back to normal.

Rochelle M. Anderson
rochelleandersonaphasia@gmail.com

Spring 2021 Blog

I hope most people have a vaccine and that soon our life will get better. I think the virus was even worse with people like us who have aphasia. An article recently said that people with disabilities were not as affected by COVID as normal people. Obviously this is not true, especially for those with aphasia. 

  1. American Heart Association has a blog, and I wrote and talked about Zoom. For a year and lots of zoom. It describes what’s good or bad in my opinion about Zoom.

         https://supportnetwork.heart.org/blog-news/rochelle-anderson-zoom-tales/

  1. The StarTribune had their second annual limerick contest in April. I submitted three limericks but of course I didn’t win. But it’s nice to do and it takes me a long time and it feels like my mind is being used.  Here’s the first one:

Springtime see robins with my friend Jean
Won the lottery, got the vaccine
Threw away the masks
Outside working tasks
Smelling the manure of a Holstein

  1.   I wrote a letter to the editor to the SunSailor about my having aphasia and also have trouble walking.     There are many different problems with bathrooms and showers, and I was surprised how many people emailed me about it from such a small paper.  This is what I said:

To the Editor:

Fifteen years ago, I had a stroke and now have right-sided weakness and aphasia. Bathrooms are often not designed for those with disabilities.

Many toilets are too short and narrow. The comfort height toilet should become the standard toilet for all bathrooms. Handrails are also important to be able to both sit down and stand up again. They have to be placed correctly so they can be easily reached when sitting down.

Showers are another issue. It is important to have a very short threshold to step over to enter the shower, and to have grab bars placed in the correct spot to get in and out.

Please keep this in mind when remodeling bathrooms or installing them in new construction. Even if you don’t have a disability, toilets and showers can be improved.

Rochelle M. Anderson
Minnetonka

  1.     Poetry.  I know that’s not good but I like doing it because once again makes my mind better. My friend Claire and I do poetry in Robbinsdale Schools. Here a few we did:

               Rooster, by Clare Sierra     

     Run Rooster Run!
    Or turn around
    OH NO
    Surprise!
    The rooster is Mad
    Enraged
    Run Person Run!


    Spring by Rochelle Anderson

    spring
    snow gone
    cold and wet
    dirt, ugly, mess
    twins, gloves, hat and coat
    all or a sudden
    tulips awake
    baby ducks
    sunshine
    spring

    Wednesdays
    By Rochelle Anderson

    SaD
    AlonE
    By myselF
    Brain injurY
    Stroke and aphasiA
    Robbinsdale teacheR
    Poetry, read, bookS
    Seeing old friendS
    Hearing laughS
    News shoW
    FuN

I hope you have a nice summer and once again maybe the virus will be done.  Remember May is National Stroke Awareness Month and June is National Aphasia Awareness Month.  Try to do something each month to improve!  I will try to talk to more people I don’t know.

Rochelle M. Anderson
rochelleandersonaphasia@gmail.com