My name is Chris Wharam, I have a age is thirty eight, I have a car accident abou maybe 18 years ago, a car accident and uh damage in the head, um its abou maybe 1/6th 1/7th brain is damage and a long time ago

Mores

>>>>>

Chris

and uh,  let me see now

Mores

Start from, you said your age your name, your age

Chris

Yeah Age

Mores

You were talking about the brain damage

Chris

Yeah damage and uh um, I couldn't talk at all and then also and damage in the stroke.  The stroke is paralyze um my left side, paralyze its doctor said its B paralyze.  So but in years I talkin and um and stop and walkin a little bit too, especially karate.  I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Doe many years ago and it help a lot,  a lot, um karate especially in stroke.  And uh my brain is damaged especian a speach and hearing class and also in writing too, and, um, like I said, um its abowing two and three and four years a just a little bit in speach like hello, goodbye, oh boy oh boy, oh man, and that's about it.  but now a little bit more details and a little bit um talkin about it.  Um, whats now

Mores

Could you talk about your accident

Chris

Like what I mean,

Mores

You talked about how it was in fox river races and

Chris

Oh yeah, um the damage is uh lucky number is uh February and a thirteenth friday lucky nu.. uh and a wreck is uh Foxfield Races, um I don't know what angle but I hit a fence, pole, and tree together and uh next day I had a stroke, so... um whats

Mores

Do you remember anything about what it was like to be in the hospital at that time...

Chris

Just a little bit, I remember just a little bit um um.  I know, uh Its a funny, I think so, because I had a bathroom you know so I had a punch you know both and I can't speak at all so I wanna go pushin a doctor or a nurse or something and its about maybe maybe twenty and thirty minutes and nothing come and um I'm not gonna go to the bathroom anymore so I wanna go pushin it more and its about like thirty minutes forty minutes so all I caant and I wa walked, its not far, its almost like a very um short very short.  So I got a big huge doom right inside that and IV right inside that and one is right inside and numb but I'm still walkin, I can't believein why and uh its still go to the bathroom you know but um I come back I hit the floor and (slaps hand) um and then the IV is broken and um but then the nurses stop and all the sudden anyway I think its funny because I walk a little bit, you know, so thats a...

Mores

If you could turn the mic towards you.

Chris

Yeah

Mores

So could you talk about what it was like to realize that you had a communication condition.

Chris

Well, especian in speach, you know, I couldn't talk at all and I have, I have a many years ago I have a girlfriend who broke lose in college and uh but its a its a difficulty uh because it uh, um I couldn't talk and this is like two and three years ago and still not enough and speach you know just a little bit um um, so that's why.

Ashley

So not being able to talk how did it make you feel

Chris

Its a frustratin, so I wanna go paint away and something a class at Piedmont community college, since studied art and uh Drawing and its ok in drawing but its not enough and um you know its um still talking a little bit not much at all and then about maybe two or three years ago in college in Bristol you know  about two years and come back and Charlottesville and um  and uh gonna stay uh Piedmont again and uh got a class in about one yea, one week or two weeks like Monday Wednesday I don't know right now but I got a class and um .... just um drawing you know nothing to do and uh you know uh and that munnicate my art you know um

Mores

OK, so could you um speak more in detail about the way art is a means of communication for you.

Chris

Communication is expressin feelin like um I don't know um its a difficulty feeling in art and communication talkin but it um um many years I drawing you know and I'd say I don't know uh....

Ashley

Well you used to paint with your right hand can you tell a little about how you taught yourself how to paint with your left hand.

Chris

well, like I say I never 18 years ago I never draw a painting acrylics uh drawing so I wanna go feel and expressin a feel not communicate but a picture you know so thats an impression I like that um (shrugs)

Ashley

so you taught yourself how to use your

Chris

I taught myself yeah a left hand not a right hand and then a left hand and um oh yeah um right now its ok and its ok right now, but I know many years ago I have a numb very numb and then stop like that, you know, um and I straighten it  right now you know  many years its almost 18 years ago so so I paintin and then somethin and then um many years I walkin and also a talkin a left hand too so.

Mores

So could you talk about um painting as a form of expression and how thats different than being able to speak and how that has effected your life and just basically the difference between painting and speaking

Chris

Well, right now its a little bit a landscape a little bit a pose in art and mcguffy center something is abstracts you know is a face, kinda like Jackson Pollack's you know a little bit and a little bit picasso style and a little bit more details just myself feeling too.  So its a difficulty because as um its abomaybe 4 or 5 maybe 6 different type in art you know not one piece like um like Jackson Pollack you know and thats you know um um I like a all uh style already you know so um...

Mores

Previously you talked a lot about your expereience at college and could you  talk about

Chris

In college, well its difficulty in, you uh, (snap) its ok, um Its difficulty In Virginia enima college and different in piedmont, Piedmont is a classes and you know its a difficulty uh more details and really uh focus and uh I like a college too but um a good friend of mine the name is college Doctor uh uh whats it called hold on Tallok, um Tallok, uh I have no Idea now.  Hold on...  anyway you know.

Mores

Can you talk about what you studied at school.

Chris

The study is uh art too but I have a class in a math.  I got a A B C in C- and um its ok

Mores

Can you talk about in going to college with a communication condition and any experiences within that, the way people treated you or the way it effected your studies, um just what it was like to go to school

Chris

Well its a trouble especially in math class it was a hard time and a study and study and study and study you  know um in math class.  Not art, art is a pretty good stuff you know um...  uh...

Mores

Could you talk about what mediums you prefer, what tye like acrylic or oil

Chris

I know many years ago it was oil and acrylics too.  So, I, I prefered is uh acrylics better more, um especian the smell it really you know they have it down stairs and no air and its um you know not good and uh in acrylics is ok not in toxics you know so

Mores

Do you prefer painting a landscape or a figure pose

Chris

Both, yeah, both

Mores

Could you talk about what it was like being so young because a lot of people have accidents when they're older or they have strokes that change them.

Chris

Yeah, Many years, eighteen years ago just started going to college and ready to go and I had the car accident.  So its a little bit mad because I want to be a nurse or a doctor you know or whatever so its a frustrating a little bit you know especially in uh speaking you know um.

Mores

How do you feel you've progressed in your speaking

Chris

Um its better, in years and years and years I study you know more details and more talkin you know so.

Mores

When you first started can you describe um more in detail I know you talked about it a little bit earlier but what you were able to say originally and then what it was like to be able to say more and more and be abble to speak more like what could you what could you speak originally after the accident

Chris

The accident well, I couldn't talk at all maybe one year ago zero you know and uh I have abee and all the sudden I have a bee and a bubble bee, i don't know it hit somethin but a bubble bee thats the name and thats a first name is bumba bee and this uh almost one uh an accident you know one year so, I

Ashley

But in the beginning you could only say hello

Chris

Goodbye

Ashley

Thats could you say that again could you repeat that again

Chris

Like what I mean uh Yes a No so so

Chris

Could you just tell him again what you could say in the beginning

Chris

Well, well like I say um a like Goodbye um yeah no so so oh boy oh boy um thats about it for many years um like I said more details and 2 years ago 3 years ago 4 years ago 5 years ago and then it decrease amount in years you know

Mores

Are you able to do all the things like drive a car, I know the person I just interviewed Bob up in Boston he can't drive a car and they he keeps trying every month he goes to get a to get a check up to see if he can drive but just um that freedom and could you talk about what kind of freedom you lost and were able to...

Chris

Well I know many years ago and is I lost some friends all the sudden car accident and all the sudden vanished you know and uh um going to college and you  know, um I don't know I mean

Mores

Bob talked a lot about how people would run away from him if he would  they would not want to talk to him and they would sort of back out of talking to him, they wouldn't know what to say could you talk about your experience with that, how people have reacted to you, um postively, negatively

Chris

well really I don't know right now somethin uh friends and some is uh enemy you know just in a car accident you know so

Ashley

so you said your friends vanished

Chris

Vanished yeah

Ashley

How about your family did your family help

Chris

Yeah a family and help and uh um mom and dad brothers is ok is a mom and dad and grandfather and grandma my grandfather is a big help but now is deceased about maybe 6 or 7 months ago he died so you know so

Mores

Can you talk about the role that art plays, what painting allows you to do allows you to express allows you to you know get out

Chris

Get out well um like i say uh i had a thirty mut thinking props i dont know about maybe five minutes ten minutes, fifteen minutes and talk about it and then paint away something is picasso style and something is a space and something is um pose, right now a pose a wall um

Ashley

Well how does art help you, why do you do it

Chris

Because its there, I mean, I don't know I mean um um um

Ashley

Well you're good at it for one thing

Chris

Yeah Yeah

Ashley

Ok, but does it, does art does painting help you express yourself

Chris

Yeah

Ashley

How

Chris

Well right now its a pose and like uh something is in my mind and something is a poses in Piedmont, not piedmont, maguffy center and uh I don't know i mean its a not bad a art but you know

Mores

Well you were just talking about how you were able to sell some of your work

Chris

Yeah I can't believe it and its a three people and like a maybe three or four months ago I sold is a watnen like a picasso style a three it sold (snap) like that so I gonna go maybe tommorrow gonna go cut and down and canvas and gesso and readytogo you know

Mores

Why do you like to paint Picasso style

Chris

Because (yawn) thats a good question um I like that it is new very new um about

maybe 50 or 60 years ago 70 years ago and died 73 years ago that is um how many years now 30 years ago or something so um i dont know i mean

Mores

Why do you like to use color

Chris

I love a color a bright very bright color and um

Mores

What draws you to that

Chris

What

Mores

What makes you wanna use bright colors

Chris

Bright color because I like a color, i like a bold color and i like a rich color

Ashley

Thats changed though right cause you're, in the beginning a long time ago when you just started to paint the colors were different

Chris

Yeah

Ashley

Could you tell him a little bit about your first paintings the colors were dark

Chris

Dark yeah well they is how long ago, this is maybe three or four years ago yeah i don't know i mean just painting

Mores

Well right now this is a forum for you to talk to people who have just had an accident or stroke um is there anything you'd like to say directly as o

Chris

Just paint

Ashley

Well, this video this documentary will be  for people who've just had a car accident or just had a stroke, can't talk at all maybe what advise would you give

Chris

Whats advice hum thats a good thinkin I don't know

Ashley

what could you tell another person who has aphasia

Mores

When you meet, do you meet people who are newer to aphasia

Chris

No

Ashley

yeah you do, yeah you meet people who have like just had their accidents

Chris

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah

Ashley

So what could you tell them about speach, hang in there practice, I mean

Chris

Especian in practice and over and over and over and over and over because I talkin a little bit too and

Mores

What did the doctors tell you

Chris

the doctors said theres a one in a million dollars is a and chance, I have a one chance and you know no help at all you know like one million chance I'll do it and and well. especially karate you know so

Mores

Alright, you look tired

Chris

Yeah