The Addams Family and Ideational Apraxia

I have blogged about apraxia before. The clinical definition is: “Ideational apraxia (IA) is a neurological disorder which explains the loss of ability to conceptualize, plan, and execute the complex sequence of motor actions involving the use of tools or objects in everyday life. Ideational apraxia is a condition in which an individual is unable to plan movement related to an object because he has lost the perception of the object's purpose. Characteristics of this disorder include a disturbance in the idea of sequential organization of voluntary actions.”

When my strokes happened in January, 2012, I was paralyzed in my right arm. My right arm was useless. It came back quickly, but in the hospital, I would look at my right arm and it seemed that it was NOT my arm. Over and over, I would move that phantom arm because, it did not seem like it was attached to my body.

It was like “Thing” from “The Addams Family.” A hand with a life of its own.

When I got out of the hospital, right away, I got acupuncture and massage for my right arm. I firmly believe that those unorthodox therapies made a huge difference in my recovery. Sometimes, I need more acupuncture and massage because sometimes my right arm seems weak.

Most people do not know that I had paralysis because I look “normal” but, in the night, when I lay wrong – “my arm is asleep” – I jump out of bed because I think that stroke will happen again. Then I settle down, and realize it nothing.

However, there are still residual issues. Months ago, I could not put on my right sock in the right way. I put the heel upside down. It took my son to help me overcome that issue.

But I still have a semblance of Ideational apraxia:

When I drive, I cannot park correctly!

A parking stall is should be perpendicular: “An angle formed by the perpendicular intersection of two straight lines; an angle of 90°.” But when I park, the angle more like 85°!

I try and try and try. I over compensate, but my angle is always off.

Oh well. It could be worse. I can parallel park very well!

Comments

Same as it ever was

When I had my two strokes more than 13 years ago, I was 50 years old. In the ensuing years I’ve had some health issues related to my strokes and other assorted “age related” things. In May of 2023, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. As a result I have endured two years of pain and the resulting lack of exercise. That summer I tried to walk regularly but my heel pain was too extreme. I tried to do exercises to relieve the pain but nothing helped. In September of 2023 I asked my doctor to give me a shot of Cortizone. We were headed to Boston for meetings and then headed to Maine. I just wanted to enjoy the trip without pain. It helped a lot. Six months later I had the same pain. I went to an orthopedic doctor who prescribed minor physical therapy. It worked for a bit and then the pain got worse. In September of 2024, my regular doctor gave me another round of Cortizone shots so I could travel to Phoenix. It really helped. For a while. In February of 2025, the pain got worse. I went ...

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way: “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind...

January

January 10th was the 13th anniversary of my first stroke. After 18 days in the hospital (including my second massive stroke were I lost almost everything) we celebrated my son’s seventh birthday. I wanted to celebrate my son‘s birthday but I had no idea the sensory overload would cause. The flashing lights, the unbearable noise of the crowds and the music, and loud conversations caused me to panic. In the midst of my brain damaged confusion, I had to go to the bathroom. At that point I really didn’t know how to navigate the restaurant even though I had been there many times. I didn’t know the concept of letters and I didn’t know what “men” and “women” were on the doors. My little son gripped my hand and said, “Daddy… I will take you to the bathroom.” Stumbling through the crowded restaurant I was scared. My son guided me to the proper door and asked if I needed any more help. After I finished I came out and he grabbed my hand and took me back to the booth. In January this year, We cele...

Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

Search This Blog