Two Sisters Together - A guest post by Marty Matocha

Having Annie in Bethesda for the last 2 ½ weeks was an unforgettable experience! When I first learned she was coming, I was absolutely thrilled but wondered how it would turn out – would she adapt to the clinical trial routine, manage the hotel stay, come to my house and like my cooking and wine choices?  How would she stay busy in-between the coming and goings to NIH? All unknowns.  In hindsight these were needless worries as she managed the full spectrum of activities thrown her way.  Perhaps the first of these was the long walks down the hallways leading to the MEG. Then there was need for her to patiently perform a repetitive task with her left hand while it was connected to an orthosis.  A benefit of the latter is that it allowed Annie a chance to focus for about 20 minutes, 4-5 times per session, on a specific task without the distractions of daily life.  Perhaps an analogy to this is meditation, but how many people take the time to do this every day? Another benefit was meeting the NIH staff involved in the trial – they are smart and friendly and truly dedicated to a better understanding of the brain and its ability to recover from a stroke injury.

Of course, there were also some fun activities.  Annie introduced me to several restaurants in Bethesda I had never tried. We experienced stand-up comedy (aka “Laugh Riot at the Hyatt”). We saw “Midnight in Paris.” We visited Penzey’s in Rockville and Balducci’s and Madeline in Bethesda. After Bob arrived we toured the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles Airport and received his expert commentary on the flying machines in the huge hanger. As for me, I learned the meaning of “bodega” and the reason a hotel has a courtesy car. My husband and son enjoyed her company too and, for all of us, her visit added something different and interesting to our lives.

Last Wednesday, we said our goodbyes and each agreed it would be good to get back to our normal routines.  But it was rewarding to me to spend time together and see her independence expand and hopefully, she left with the motivation to practice “Offene linke Hand” over and over and over again.