Blog Archives

MY COGNITIVE BRAIN

BY KEITH MAKAR

Getting to this point, where I can spell relatively easily, has taken the better part of 4 years. It was considerably harder for me than most people. Definitely I am grateful that Judy persisted, even though I am difficult. It is hard for me to control my hand even now, but I can do it.

All my life I’ve been thought cognitively impaired because my mouth has a mind of its own. It babbles idiocy all day. I am not my mouth. I am what Judy calls my cognitive brain.

2/17/2025 0 Comments

Moms Are the Greatest

Once again my Mom saved me. She read research that said that vitamin B6 can help. So she started me on it, and just like the study reported, after five days I could sit again. My watch tracks my steps. The akathisia had me walking about thirty-three thousand steps a day, on average. After a few days on the vitamin, that dropped to eleven thousand. After five days, it was only four or five.

You cannot imagine the relief I feel. It was like living in hell. Now I’m so calm, I’m positively mellow.

Moms rock.

0 Comments

2/10/2025 0 Comments

Moms Rock

I am suffering from something that makes me need to move all the time. I know that it is called akathisia, but I am not on any meds now, so we don’t know the cause. I am going insane with it. I am praying that my Mom figures out how to help me.

That our mothers always need to figure out things like this is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be up to them - it should be doctors helping us. But all my life it was my mother who looked for ways to help me. I have no faith in doctors. They don’t live with us, so they don’t know how much we and our families suffer. I have faith in my Mom, though. I hate putting it on her but..she will figure it out.

0 Comments

2/3/2025 3 Comments

A Shock

When I walked in today, Judy asked me if I want to make a video for an upcoming conference that she is doing in June with a Connecticut organization called Abilis. I responded that I am really not a good enough speller. She looked shocked, and asked me what I am smoking. “Keith, you are a great speller now! You are fast and accurate.”

That astonished me. It was incredibly difficult to master this. I really struggled for years to get my hand to the letters. It made me insanely happy to hear her say that. I guess it never occurred to me that I had mastered this, because it is still so hard for me. It was a revelation to me to learn that I am an accomplished speller. What a surprise that was!

I guess that just goes to show that hard work and a great teacher can work miracles.