Getting My Life Back —Thanks to My Team of SLPs

I learned how to talk again. It’s been 17 months since a life-changing event left me without words. I want you to know, from a patient’s perspective, how speech-language pathologists affected my life. I don’t know if I will ever truly be able to explain what it feels like to find yourself without the power to speak. My rehabilitation team helped me conquer my world once again. To understand where I am now, you must know who I was. I graduated with honors from The Citadel and The Military College of South Carolina, and worked for the Naval Services, Department of Defense, then the U.S. Air Force and, eventually the private sector. For 20 years, I dedicated my life to making changes in health care and higher education. In October 2015, I assisted with the delivery of a major project for an Ivy League university and was promoted to vice president at my consulting firm. At age 41, my social life was active as I enjoyed Philadelphia city life. Around this time, I began experiencing bad headaches and couldn’t really figure out why. I shrugged it off as part of life and attempted to work through the pain. On the morning of Nov. 13, 2015, my life changed. I was reviewing notes for a company meeting where I would assume a new leadership role. I headed to the shower. The headache I’d nursed since 3 a.m. got steadily worse. I wanted to lie down, but the excitement of my first executive meeting was overpowering. A few minutes into the shower, I heard and felt the equivalent...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Health Care Slider Speech-Language Pathology Aphasia Cognitive Rehabilitation Traumatic Brain Injury Source Type: blogs