Jean likes to tell people that she lives on the Planet Aphasia but she's actually a life-long native of Michigan, U.S.A. Most family caregivers to stroke survivors with severe language disorders will understand her 'Planet Aphasia' euphemism. That feeling of being banished to a foreign land where the language you grew up with doesn't work anymore and you have to find new ways to communicate with y...

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Jean likes to tell people that she lives on the Planet Aphasia but she's actually a life-long native of Michigan, U.S.A. Most family caregivers to stroke survivors with severe language disorders will understand her 'Planet Aphasia' euphemism. That feeling of being banished to a foreign land where the language you grew up with doesn't work anymore and you have to find new ways to communicate with your loved one colors all aspects of life. Jean and her husband, Don, have lived on the Planet Aphasia since May of 2000 when he had a massive stroke that left him right side paralyzed and with severe aphasia and apraxia. In the five years before her husband's stroke, Jean share-cared for her father who had dementia and eventually passed away from lung cancer. Caregiving is a job we grow into out of necessity.