Speech/Language Therapist at Silver Cross’ Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Helps Stroke Victim Find the Right Words

Brian Svoboda was shooting with some friends at a Morris gun club last August when suddenly, he told them he just didn’t feel right. 

“I was thinking OK, but I wasn’t moving my legs the same, and I was having trouble talking.” 

The 73-year-old Tinley Park man called his partner, Pati, to tell her, and she said it sounded like he was having a stroke and to get to the hospital. 

Svoboda’s friends at the club thought the same and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was given a clot-busting drug and kept for observation for a few days. 

Once he was stable, Svoboda was admitted to the inpatient unit at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. 

Experienced Help

The inpatient therapy team has experience treating a broad range of conditions, said Lora Diaz, Director of Rehabilitation for Acute Care, Inpatient Rehab and Outpatient Therapy Services.

Diaz oversees all the therapists at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross, including Occupational and Physical Therapy. And during Better Speech & Hearing Month in May especially, she likes to highlight what the Speech Pathologists do. 

While Svoboda benefitted from inpatient and outpatient therapy for weakness in his right side, Diaz, a speech pathologist, said he was treated as an outpatient beginning in December for continued difficulty speaking – called aphasia – brought on by the stroke. 

“I knew what I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t think of the words,” Svoboda said. Working with Meghan Varriale on Outpatient Speech Therapy at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab helped him a great deal. 

Varriale, outpatient Speech-Language Pathologist, said Svoboda was in good shape otherwise when she first saw him in December for their twice-a-week, 45-minute sessions. 

Right Tools for the Job

Since he didn’t have any limitations using his hands or fingers, she used a touch-talk, speech generating device, like a tablet with pictures and sounds, to help rebuild his communication skills. 

“There are many other augmentative and alternative communication devices, systems, strategies and tools we use to help a person who has difficulty communicating,” she said. “And each one is patient-specific.” 

A person who can’t speak the word they are thinking of can use the tablet to find a picture that, when pressed, will give the word. Pati was thankful Varriale helped them acquire a tablet for home, so Svoboda could continue practicing. 

Varriale said there are also therapy approaches that can help a person with aphasia retrain their mind, similar to exercises for strengthening muscles. For example, when trying to think of the word pen, the person might ask themselves, “What is it used for? What is it associated with?” to help them formulate the word and build connections. 

“People often incorrectly think the speech-generating device replaces verbal expression,” Varriale said. “But it doesn’t. It enhances a person’s ability to find the words they need to speak. 

“It can be frustrating trying to find the right word, and stress can make it worse. Having a device readily available to help us communicate can help ease some of that tension.” 

‘Talking is the Best Thing’

Discharged from outpatient speech therapy in February, Svoboda enjoys practicing the techniques he learned. 

“I’ll visit sporting goods stores or grocery stores, and just walk around thinking of the names of what I see,” he said. “Also, I love talking to people, and that is a great exercise. No one I meet is a stranger. The more I talk, the better I get. Talking is the best thing to get your speech back.” 

So, several times a week, Svoboda and Pati will go to the gun club and spend the day chatting with friends. No shooting yet or driving. 

And on Wednesdays, they’ll head to a friend’s farm in Manhattan to visit there. After moving on from a chemical company job, Svoboda drove a school bus for nearly a decade for the Manhattan School District. 

He has no trouble speaking about those days. 

“I had good kids. They were all wonderful. And I hear some of them still remember me. That is so nice to hear.” 

Svoboda still has some difficulties finding the words he needs, but Pati is there to help. 

“We practice speech therapy with the tablet four times a week but use it more often than that to find the right word,” she said. 

“Brian has also benefited from a technique called Melodic Intonation that Meghan taught us. We sing words and phrases that he has to repeat back to me.” 

They both say Varriale and the other therapists at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross helped Svoboda in so many ways. 

“They were all fantastic,” Svoboda said. “I appreciate all they did for me.” 

For more information about rehabilitation services at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross Hospital, visit silvercross.org