Lastweek was busy busy busy for me. On Thursday, I went and got my MRI done. Now I need to make an appointment with my doctor so he can read it.

Friday, I took Lopaka to see a neurologist and it went well. He examined my brother’s eyes and saw that his pupils were twitching because of the high dose of meds so he omitted one of the two anti-seizure medication. He said he can understand why my brother sees double. He also ordered another blood test to check ensure all his organs are working properly. He will have my brother get an EEG to check his brain waves and he’s also going to get him some stroke therapy.

I always tried to be strong and keep my brother laughing but that viewing the films of his MRI took me over the edge. I couldn’t believe how much of his brain was injured by the strokes. We work on his speech as much as possible because I know that above all, he wants to be able to speak more than anything. He expressed that he can live with the paralysis in his arm and leg but he NEEDS to speak again. It’s difficult for him to get his point across and I know it frustrates him beyond belief. I don’t want him stressing too much when we work on simple things like names. Everyday I ask him what his name is. Sometimes, it just comes out and other times, he spends a minute concentrating on saying his name. I’ve been told that stroke victims can return to almost normal if they work repetitively on certain things. They need to be re-taught. I’m very hopeful, the doctor didn’t seem as enthusiatic as I would’ve like him to be. He pointed out a spot on my brother’s film and told me that the part that is injured affects his ability to speak.

He did a simple test on my brother, one that involved directions. He asked Lopaka to close his eyes, stick out his tongue and touch his tongue with the tip of his finger. Sadly, it was too much for my brother to process and he couldn’t complete the test. He just opened his eyes and said he couldn’t do it. I asked the doctor why that was and he said it was the injury from the stoke. He cannot process instructions like he used to do so the doctor wasn’t at all surprised.

This was information overload for me and I just broke down. I mean, yes I knew that due to the strokes, his brain was injured. I just didn’t know how much of it was damaged. I want him back to normal. It pains me to see him this way.

Did I mention Kamalani’s got some blingbling in her mouth? She does. She went to the dentist and got her teeth capped with the stainless steel crowns so when she smiles, it’s BRIGHT. I teased her about us having to wear sunglasses whenever she smiles from now on. She’s excited about going to school. Everyday she counts down the days. Today she woke up at 10 and came running into my room to tell me she woke up early. I pointed to the clock and told her if it were a school day, she’d be an hour late already. Then she takes an hour to eat breakfast and then another hour to take her bath and get dressed for school. By the time she’s ready to leave, it would be time for me to pick her up from school. She said she would sleep earlier tonight. We planned to have her in bed by 9. She went to sleep at 11 p.m. it’s still earlier than her normal sleep time.

Poor hubby has been getting migraines lately. I think I need to do some veggie shopping. I feel like a flipping nurse.

Yesterday, I woke up 2 hours before everyone else so I took a shower and did some reading. Then of course the house woke up so there went my quiet time. I started doing laundry and I fixed breakfast for everyone, cleaned the kitchen and hubby said I should relax since all the housework was already done. Wasn’t that just too sweet of him?

Anyway, Labor Day is over now and so is my day of relaxation. Hope everyone had a nice long weekend.