Rhythm

These images are from Armando's journal. Written a few days ago, they show the exercises he is doing to build the 'rhythm' in his left hand. Just like the percussive beat of music, there is a pace and a pulse to calligraphy.

The scribe at work

Lifetimes have been spent by Armando engaged in this work of letter copying. I have a memory from another century of him dressed in a long brown velvet robe and four cornered hat, decorated with gold braid, standing at a candlelit podium in a dank European basement full of musty books, writing, writing, writing for hours, days, months, years, decades on end. I was a small creature in a dark corner on the floor, looking up, watching him. He was kind to me. I was his only friend and companion in that dim existence.

In 1999,  when we traveled to Tibet, we stood in another dank, musty room full of books where a bald headed monk dressed in crimson sat in the light of a lone beam streaming into the darkness, writing, writing, writing - copying book after book after book for lifetimes. Armando and I both immediately felt a recognition of the state, and a strange sense of comfort and being very much at home.

Today, sitting with him as the light streams in the window and he works to regain his relationship with letters and to train his left hand to do what he once did with his right, once again he sits writing, writing, writing with a passion and dedication known to few.

Old habits are hard to break.

The Armando Special

From the day following his stroke, Armando has been drinking 12 ounces per day of raw juice specially formulated to reduce the swelling of his brain and provide his nerve tissues with the salts and micro-nutrients they need to heal and function optimally.

Thanks to the many people who helped us by either making it fresh or picking it up from the Co-op juice bar (where it is known as the 'Armando Special' - it's in 'the book').

Armando is thriving, healing rapidly. People are constantly stopping him in the halls, telling him how great he is progressing and asking about what we are doing. This juice is a large part of why he is progressing so rapidly.

For those of you who have asked, here's the formula:

Celery, cucumber, cilantro, parsley, garlic and ginger to equal 12 ounces, drink as fresh as possible.

Conversations with Armando

Armando just got conversational! For the first time since his stroke, yesterday he was able to express himself in sequences of full sentences that were entirely understandable. (So far, speaking with him has been limited to asking questions that can be answered 'yes', 'no', 'ok', or 'maybe', and short, sometimes incomplete sentences.) Not once did we have to revert to the '20' questions mode of communication. There are still times when he reaches a block in making himsenf understood, but when we reach these points we have agreed to just let it be instead of fighting it. We focus on appreciating the understanding that has been acheived, and recognize after rest, more understanding will come on the morrow.

Look at that smile!

Look how beautiful and balanced his face is becoming! And that smile reflects his spirit. Armando continues to have such a great attitude, and his progress reflects that. Every day he gets a little stronger, a little more clear, a little more balanced.

Sitting balance

We're in physical therapy this morning working on his balance in a sitting position in order to build strength in his trunk.

Watching TED Talks

Herbal Remedies

My background is in Naturopathy, so whenever possible, I choose to use herbs instead of allopathic medicines. It has been my observation that allopathic medicines deplete life force energy rather than strengthening it. Herbs and foods, on the other hand, regenerate and build life force energy (known as "chi" in Chinese medicine). Over the course of our time together, Armando (who was already leaning towards this philosophy when I met him) came to share my views on this matter. Armando also, had already had a stroke some eight years before this one, as well as several Trans Ischemic Attacks. These events gave us the opportunity to have many in depth conversations about how we would want to handle things if and when "the big one" came. So when the stroke occurred, we had already made many of the difficult decisions about what medicines and medical interventions we were and were not willing to use in such a case. Our choice was to use alternative methods over standard medical practices where ever possible, but also to be open minded and willing to integrate when it seemed like the best thing to do.

Almost always, our first choice is to work with the tools available to us through nature before we opt for integrating chemical medicines. Such was the case when the stroke hit.

From within 24 hours of the time Armando was admitted to Rogue Valley Medical Center on the day of his stroke (July 20th, 2012) I began giving him an herbal tincture to nourish his nervous system and to minimize brain edema (swelling due to the stroke). The doctors and nurses wouldn't allow me to give him any fluids or solids that required swallowing for fear he would aspirate them and end up with pneumonia on top of the stroke. I knew I wanted to begin treating him herbally as soon as possible, so I elected to make a tincture. I couldn't find a ready made tincture available to me within the Rogue Valley, so I custom made one of my own.

The foundation for the tincture was one I had made for myself several months ago in a base of pure grain alcohol, glycerin and water that included juniper berries, dandelion root and leaf. To that I added a commercial tincture from the Herb Pharm I obtained at the Ashland Food Co-op called "Brain and Memory Tonic" that included GotoKola, Ginkgo leaf, Skullcap flower, Sage leaf, and Rosemary leafy branch. In addition to that I added more Rosemary, Feverfew and Yarrow fresh from the WellSprings organic gardens I once had managed.

I also fed him raspberries, blackberries and blueberries in spite of the cautions from the medical staff against doing so. The tinctures and berries worked well to provide him the basic sustenance he needed to feed his nervous system and reduce the swelling. The advantage to using them is that they absorbed directly through his tongue into his nervous system, requiring little or no chewing and swallowing, thus reducing the pneumonia risk.

His stroke occurred on a Saturday morning, by Wednesday afternoon his edema had reduced substantially, he was beginning to have some movement in his right side, and he was cleared for swallowing "honey thick" liquids and foods. He was ready to transfer out of RVMC into a skilled nursing facility/rehab center.

Calligraphy

This is for you Bodhi. This morning when we were visiting, before you left to return home, we talked about how ironic it is that Armando has lost his understanding of letters and words. Together we recalled that prior to his stroke he was taking the stand that letters and words were the foundation of what is going wrong in the world. We both wondered if he had simply decided to be done with them and instead to enter a world where they were no longer part of his reality.

After you left for home, Armando became very insistent on getting his desk set up in his room so he could work. It was a huge project to get everything set the way he wanted it, largely because of the communication issues. It took a couple of hours, but we got it done. Very pleased about it, he immediately set out to write in his journal. The photo below is an image of what he wrote, contrasting with other writing from just a few days ago. The distinguishable letters were written at his desk today, just shortly after we questioned whether or not he would ever want to get his writing back. He never knew about our conversation, but I think we have our answer loud and clear, and it is a resounding yes!

Moving right

I am currently sitting with Armando in his room at Linda Vista. As we sit here, he is consciously and voluntarily moving his right arm at the elbow. He is moving it up and down as well as rotating it at the elbow. He is also voluntarily wiggling the thumb and fingers on his right hand. Earlier, as he was laying in bed he moved his right leg at the hip and knee. Another great leap towards healing.

Pet Therapy

Last evening I brought our kitties to visit Armando, at his request. We all went out on the patio and I let the kittens out of their carrier. Armando immediately responded by reaching out with his right arm (which has shown only subtle movement thusfar) to touch them. Chalk up a point for pet therapy!

Watch "Right Arm Movement" on YouTube

Busy days

The therapists have been keeping Armando very busy every day -  standing, kicking, moving, speaking, doing everything for himself that he can, and he is progressing very rapidly. From 7am when he is dressed for breakfast till 6pm when dinner is over, nearly every minute of his day is busy with healing therapies. Even meals are therapy. After dinner, we finally have time to relax and review the progress of the day. Evenings are a good time for phone calls and visitors. Seeing and hearing from friends is always a welcome thing. Thanks to everyone who has called or stopped by.

Armando moves his right leg

This video was shot a few days ago. It is significant because Armando has had little to no movement on his right side since his stroke. Here he moves his right ankle, toes, knee and hip - all voluntary. Very exciting!

Speaking in sentences

"I am information."

"I cannot see."

Until today, Armando found it nearly impossible to speak in complete sentences. He could only speak half of a sentence - not enough to communicate a complete concept and be understood. Mostly, in order to communicate with him one had to ask questions that could be answered 'yes', 'no', 'ok', or a shrug for 'maybe'.

Today, with the two sentences above,that began to change.

Speech also came with the awareness that his sight has been affected in ways that we don't yet fully understand. He can see, but his sight is somehow jumbled in a way that seems to be connected to his speech.

138/70

Blood pressure as of 4:23pm today. Armando's Blood pressure is normalizing.

Talk to the hand

Today, physical therapy worked with Armando to begin the process of waking up his right hand and retraining the neural pathways that control it. Below is posted a photo of the device they used - an arm skate. (I will also be adding video of the session after it uploads to YouTube.) Basically a skateboard strapped to his arm, that allows him to freely move his shoulder and elbow joints on his own. He did have some small, subtle movements, which is very encouraging.

To all our Guardian Angels

You know who you are - from the depths of our hearts Thank You!!!!! Armando could never be progressing as far and fast as he is without you, and I could never be able to provide the much needed support to him without your love, compassion and generosity. It means so much to us both. <3

The Wizard Returns

Physical Therapy

Armando had a great physical therapy session today with his therapist, Greg. He stood for 30 minutes upright, supported. I am very happy he is exercising to keep his muscles toned.

Below are a few photos I snapped of today's session.

Acupuncture

Much has passed since the stroke happened. I will catch you up on everything later. On Wednesday, July 25th, Armando was transferred from Rogue Valley Medical center, where he was first treated, to Linda Vista for occupational, physical and speech therapy. The main criteria for us in choosing this facility was that they would allow us to use 'alternative' therapies in his treatment. The answer was yes, and they have proven to be very accommodating. In these photos, you see Armando's acupuncturist, Jason (Cedar) Miller of Jade Mountain Medical Clinic openly treating Armando with acupuncture in the patio area of the care facility. Armando responds quite well to acupuncture. Eight years ago, when he had his first stroke, he recovered fully through the use of acupuncture, medicinal herbs and diet.

A Recurring Theme

We're alternative. Those are the words I have found myself uttering repeatedly to the doctors, nurses, friends and family members who don't understand the health care choices we'd made regarding the ischemic stroke Armando had the morning of July 20th, 2012, resulting in him being triaged in the Emergency room of Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford Oregon. It's been ten days, and life is yet to return to some vague semblance of normal. If the nurses came to test my cognizance by asking me what day it is, I wouldn't pass the test. The events and people and places since the incident are all a blur that washed past me faster than I could track. Only now have I finally had the time to look back and recapitulate what has occurred and begin to explore the possibilities of what it means for our future.