Thanksgiving

I was hopeful that the title of my next blog was “Triumph” and that I mastered the steps that were giving me such difficulty.  But I have not yet mastered these steps, I’ve practiced and practiced and until I consistently walk up and down with minimal cane use, I do not consider myself triumphant.  I did have an interesting experience this week that I think is worth mentioning.  I was asked to speak to a group of 30 seniors at The University of Texas who are studying communications for adults with speaking disorders.  Because I attended three semesters at UT Speech & Hearing, a graduate assistant asked if I would be willing to share my experience here and how it helped me.  I gave a 20-minute talk with 10 minutes for Q&A.  It was organized in 3 parts:

1. What happened to me?

2. My experience at UT Speech & Hearing

3.  My life today

I think it went well.  My assistant, Katherine, attended and her roommate, Lauren, was one of the students in attendance.  Katherine asked Lauren for some feedback afterwards.  Lauren told her she said she loved the presentation and that the professor talked about and quizzed them for an hour afterwards.  I wish I could have stayed for that part!

I really enjoyed preparing and delivering the speech.  A lot of credit goes to Bob for helping me write and practice.  My favorite line he gave me as a close was:  “This talk is supposed to be about how to deal with adults in therapy.  If I can only impart one thing, it would be to, “Treat us like adults who have had an injury that is making us act like children.”

On this Thanksgiving Day,  I am thankful just to be here.