Friday, June 29, 2007

Yakkety yak - please talk back

I've been reading up on strokes, trying to learn what my mother is facing, what her prospects are, and it's given me some hope.

One book, The Invaluable Guide to Life after Stroke: an owner's maual by Arthur Josephs has been quite informative. In describing the behavior of a person who has suffered damage to the right hemisphere of the brain the author cautions that the stroke survivor may talk too much.

I think back on my mother's behavior as I sat by her hospital bed. Talk too much? She certainly talked a lot. But compared to most people, my mother always talked a lot. Maybe she was talking too much. Or not. It's a matter of opinion, isn't it? My mother loves to talk, and she has always talked a lot. How can I tell if her talking a lot is a symptom of her brain damage or an encouraging sign of normal behavior for her?

My mother and I used to talk on the phone a lot. Correct that. We used to spend a lot of time on the phone with each other. My husband and kids always knew if I was on the phone with my mother because I wasn't saying anything except, "uh-huh, oh, is that right, okay, yes, I'm still here." That last comment because eventually during her conversation my mother would stop and ask, "are you still there? You're not saying anything."

Sometimes during our phone chats I would start craving a cup of coffee or a piece of pie - and because we have an old fashioned phone with a cord, I was tethered in place. When I could tell she had started on another one of her favorite topics (Michael Jackson-who is not a pedophile, handsome politicians - she's got a crush on Al Gore, whatever horror is current in the national or world news) I would quietly set the phone down, step across the room and pour myself a cup of coffee or retrieve the pie from the fridge and cut a slice for myself, then go back to the phone and pick it up and listen - sure enough, she would still be happily chattering away, and I had my coffee and pie to tide me over for the duration.

I miss talking to my mother on the phone. I hope she gets better soon.

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