I am on national radio this week! It's TheMoth, the cool US storytelling radio show. I tell the story of sneaking out of a hospital after brain surgery to go to a party. Hear me here. The whole episode is here. Or, if you are in the US, it's on your local NPR station this week. The story was taped in 2013 but they are rebroadcasting it.

Now that I have two energetic little boys, I find myself running after them quite a lot (and waving my arms and screaming). At the rehab gym that is one of my goals this month: speed. When I go to my favorite coffee place, I’m supposed to alternate speed and my normal walk.

Vrrrrrooooooom!

Amazon asked me to write a story about my stroke. Here it is, in Kindle and Audible formats. 

"In this darkly comic memoir, a young woman recounts the steps she took to rebuild her sense of self in the aftermath of two devastating strokes that robbed her of her ability to communicate...."

After Words is designed to be read in one sitting. Free for Amazon Prime members. The audio version is pretty good too!

Get the story!

I was considering this image for my main intro page, but it is a little creepy. Is she drinking his brain from a straw? It's by F. Ruysch, 1638-1731.

Any good brain images? How do you like the head intro I chose?

I'm back! I took a little break from Mindpop with my new baby and new job.

During that time, this site was hacked. I'm busy cleaning it up now. In the next few months I will be coming up with a new design (the old one was created in 2010!)

If you have favorite blog sites, send them my way.

Pregnancy made my balance all screwy, with my baby's weight sticking out of my midsection. My walking is great now that my center of gravity is back to normal.

But this pregnancy was much better than the first. No big falls this time. Better balance. Progress!

My older son has been contemplating his relationship with the new little brother. "You will be like a teacher," I said, "teaching him things he doesn't know."

"Could I teach him about cars?"

"Of course."

Pause.

"Even Camaros?"

When I was expecting #2, my older son adjusted to the idea.

He has a 2-year-old and Boston accent. He pointed to my big belly and said, "It's a brodah in deah!"

Translation: "It's a brother in there!"

I'm a StrokeMama again. Baby boy #2. Healthy and loud. Parents need sleep.

Radio New Zealand asked me to do an interview about strokes and being a StrokeMama. They read this blog! Listen here...

At the Boston Museum of Science, there is an exhibit on the Freedom Chair. It is the mountain bike equivalent for wheelchairs! Created by a MIT class, it enables users to get off road. Owners use poles instead of spinning wheels with their hands. It's also useful for rural communities where roads are not paved.

Other cool innovations for the disabled?

I'm on the radio! On the National Public Radio show "Here and Now." They wanted me to talk about being a StrokeMama. Also what it's like when your mind disappears. Listen here...

My son's favorite nearby park is the Dragon Park. That is his name for it. It is hilly, sandy, not level and filled with park equipment that a StrokeMama can't climb to rescue her 2-year-old when he gets stuck.

My son's second favorite park he calls the Truck Park. It is flat, smaller and filled with toy vehicles.

He is often mad that we are not going to the Dragon Park. Truck Park compromise.

Other stroke compromises?

My 2-year-old son enjoys his musical instruments - a ukulele, a harmonica, a triangle, a xylophone. (We have avoided buying a drum.) He likes belting out bluegrass tunes on his ukulele. Sometimes he hands it to me, whose right hand can play but not with his gusto. Then he looks annoyed.

Have you had moments when your kids notice your disability?

A librarian wrote in with a speech therapy question: he has a patron who has pretty strong aphasia, or loss of language. The patron likes movies, so the library staff try to help him select them.

"Do you know is there a list of vocabulary that staff can use to aid him? For example, he will say 'world, 1, 2, 3, 4, you know, come on! Me!' We try to clarify by asking, 'scifi? Documentary? Series? South America?' Many times he gets frustrated and leaves. And help that you can offer or resources that you can point me to would be very appreciated."

When I had aphasia, I often wrote things down. I don't know if that is an option for this library patron. Maybe some crowd sourcing here? Any patients or speech therapists with helpful ideas?

Harvard Medical School asked me to speak on the first day of their Neurology course. My hope is that the students take away: be encouraging to stroke patients! We can continue to get better for years! I have had run-ins with therapists and doctors who have not been encouraging. I'm busy proving them wrong.

Got stories to tell?

Aphasia is an impairment of language and communication. June is National Aphasia Awareness Month.

I said odd words after my stroke. For example, I wanted to say "speech" and instead said "fleas."

If the words coming out of your mouth are not what you intend, who’s talking?

Students at the Parsons School of Design in NY have a course in fashion for the disabled. It is in conjunction with MIT's Open Style Lab.

Praising smart design, baby. Me, I can't stand stuck zippers. Any other ideas for improving fashion for the disabled?

My two-year-old likes bluegrass, big band and David Bowie. Get down! I do some of my boring exercises during our dance parties.

Any other techniques to keep motivated?

My therapists want to see me, but they have to justify it to my health insurance. Which leads to the Insurance Dance. My hand can't be just getting better, but it has to be more functional to get therapists reimbursed. We are currently working on ways my hand needs to be more functional around my son: Putting on stuck, annoying zippers, grabbing his hand when he decides to flee, etc.

Any crazy Insurance Dance stories?