James is a New Zealander. He was a teacher, musician and music director, a journalist and event manager - as well as a husband, father and grandfather. He was a voracious reader, a fluent writer and a confident speaker. In 2015, he suffered a hemiparesis, a middle cerebral artery territory infarct. In a word, a stroke. He collapsed, paralysed on his right side, and couldn't speak or write. The hospital intervention was rapid. They administered a clot-busting injection. His limbs were free but his speech was ... absent. He had/has aphasia.Aphasia is the loss of a previously held ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language, resulting from damage to the brain caused by injury or disease - in this case, a stroke. With expert therapists in speech, music and eurhythmy he has re-invented himself. He has a positive and optimistic outlook, electing to view his stroke as a 'stroke of luck'. But his speech is still...suspect.
