A Brief But Spectacular take on how language is your life

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• Judy Woodruff:

  After having life-changing strokes, Kate Kennedy and Allen Oliver found themselves diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder marked by a patient's inability to communicate clearly.

  They have had to relearn how to read — write, read and speak, all alongside other aphasia patients, at Boston University's Aphasia Resource Center.

  Here, they share their Brief But Spectacular take on how language is your life.

• Allen Oliver, Aphasia Patient:

  The thing about having a stroke is, like, I thought that I was — I was strong.

• Kate Kennedy, Aphasia Patient:

  Strong.

• Allen Oliver:

  I was fit. And then, all of a sudden, like, in a blink of an eye, a stroke.

• Kate Kennedy:

  Just like that.

• Allen Oliver:

  Just like that. And you can't go back.

• Kate Kennedy:

  When it was the stroke, it was — I was 30. I'm a mom. I was full time working, because my career with specialty with strokes.

  I said, myself, like, what do you mean? Like, I helped people, but now I am a patient.

• Allen Oliver:

  I woke up with a splitting headache. And so we went to the hospital. And they said, yes, you just had a stroke.

  You're thinking like, I had a stroke, so what does that mean? All of a sudden, I couldn't find the words. And they were — I know there were words somewhere, in the ether somewhere.

• Kate Kennedy:

  Yes. I was like a baby to language to say, yes, no, what is your name?

• Allen Oliver:

  Aphasia is the ability of not too able to communicate well.

• Kate Kennedy:

  Aphasia is very frustrating, because your language, it's — it's — honestly it's gone. You know it is.

• Allen Oliver:

  Right.

• Kate Kennedy:

  You know what it is your brain.

• Allen Oliver:

  Yes.

• Kate Kennedy:

  In your brain.

• Allen Oliver:

  Right.

• Kate Kennedy:

  But putting out…

• Allen Oliver:

  Right.

• Kate Kennedy:

  … it's slow.

• Allen Oliver:

  Yes.

  What happens with B.U., all these people who have aphasia became a community — a community.

• Kate Kennedy:

  It's kind of free.

• Allen Oliver:

  Yes.

• Kate Kennedy:

  Because you guys, I'm like, oh, that's OK.

• Allen Oliver:

  It is.

• Kate Kennedy:

  It's going to mess up or really bad or whatever it is, it doesn't matter.

• Allen Oliver:

  Right. Right. Right.

• Kate Kennedy:

  You know?

• Allen Oliver:

  We're a group of people that we know to turn to.

• Kate Kennedy:

  Exactly.

  I want to tell everybody, what is aphasia? And I'm just me. I have two kids. They know why my word is not perfect, but I understand, and they understand me.

• Allen Oliver:

  I can't go back to be who I am. But I'm here. I'm alive.

• Kate Kennedy:

  My name is Kate Kennedy.

• Allen Oliver:

  My name is Allen Oliver.

• Kate Kennedy AND Allen Oliver:

  And this is our…

• Kate Kennedy:

  … Brief But…

• Allen Oliver:

  … Spectacular…

• Kate Kennedy:

  … take on how…

• Allen Oliver:

  … language is your life.

• Judy Woodruff:

  And Kate and Allen, thank you so much for sharing all of that with us.

  And you can watch more Brief But Spectacular videos online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.