When Erica Suprenand became her father's primary caretaker a few years ago, trying to find help consumed her life.
Her father, Russ, had suffered a major stroke and had resulting aphasia, or a loss of ability to understand or express speech. An attempt to have him live at a care facility was unsuccessful, as he often tried to get out, not fitting in at a place where he was 20 years younger than just about everyone.
Erica eventually had him move in with her, something that meant taking care of Russ full-time. She had to quit her job as a hairstylist. Russ slowly improved as different therapists came by the house, but it was still difficult to communicate — until she heard from St. Luke's about a unique program.
The intensive aphasia group treatment program partners with Idaho State University speech-language pathology graduate students to offer patients three-hour sessions daily over a three-week span.


