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Socializing is important for people with aphasia, because it helps relieve their depression and convinces them that they are not alone. So said Dr. Robery Gan, a neurologist and consultant at St. Luke's and Cardinal Santos Medical Centers, in an article published in Manila Bulletin dated September 22, 1999.
Realizing that mutual support can help people with aphasia to cope with their condition, we have formed the Aphasia Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (AFPI). We are a group of aphasics and caregivers aiming to provide assistnace and support to one another in order to live more meaningful and purposeful lives.
Among the members and beneficiary of the foundation are :
TV Jeanne Young's sister Peach started showing Parkinsonian symptoms in 198, which caused her seizures and confined her to a wheelchair. The disease has reduced her speaking ability to only 20%; she communicate with her eyes 80% of the time.
Mando "Bong" Marfa, a medical doctor by profession who graduated cum laude at the University of the Philippines, was it by a truck while driving home in 1993. The accident damaged the part of his brain that controls speech, hearing and reading. He now has great difficulty reading and writing.
Ms. Paz C. Talam, a social worker and community organizer who was active in pro-women causes, suddenly lost her memory. She knew she was married with children but could not recognize them nor recall their names. According to her, she had amnesia and speech impairment. It took some time before her memory came back in bits and pieces, but by then her husband had left her.
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