Damien says “happy birthday”

What if you can’t say “happy birthday” to the person you loved the most in the world?

Damien’s stroke in 2018 left him with very little ability to speak. He found it difficult to name everyday items, recall the days of the week or say the words “happy birthday” to his daughter.

Slowly but surely, with the help of his Speech Pathologist Christina, Damien is beginning to regain his language and his ability to communicate. According to Christina, among their goals are for Damien to be able to express functional phrases such as “How are you?” or “Can I order a latte?” and state his date of birth.

“We have seen such a lovely progression over the past 12 months including his ability to recall days of the week, months of the year and name a range of everyday items with little to no prompting from me.”

Best of all? He is finally able to say the words “happy birthday” and greet his daughter after two challenging years. Definitely a reason to celebrate!

Damien has told Christina that he now feels that his language is slowly but surely improving with the therapy. Being able to say something as simple as “happy birthday” has made him feel very confident with communicating.