James Stephens
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 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 and 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.
He has semi-recovered with expert therapists in speech, music and eurhythmy.
He has a positive and optimistic outlook, electing to view his stroke as a ‘stroke of luck’.
“My aphasia forced me to look at my life differently and to re-invent myself. Now, I am an author – apparently!”
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