Adivie has continued with her rehabilitation in Amsterdam, and is progressing physically, slowly but surely. Her biggest obstacle these days is cognitive impairment.

Adivie’s memory fluctuates back and forth from the present to the past. When Adivie is fatigued, she tends to believe she is living in a past time frame. This leads to a roller coaster of emotions from her on a daily basis. Some days are good – she eats, she smiles and laughs. Other days are difficult, and her behavior and symptoms are those of a person with extreme depression.

Those difficult days are the hardest to watch her go through. Her brain cannot yet absorb the fact that she had an aneurysm, had surgery and now in rehab. She often times insists she is in the United States rather than Amsterdam.

For example, a few days ago, she asked me when I was coming to visit. I had to explain to her I was in America while she was in Amsterdam. I patiently explained everything that had happened to her since December, until it appeared she accepted what I was saying (for the moment). I assured her I would be returning to Amsterdam to be there for her, and her boyfriend Martijn would come by to see her. She told me how she felt she was going crazy, and she didn’t know if she would be able to get through what ever was happening to her. She didn’t remember being in the hospital or anything happening to her. I told her she likely never will, and that it was normal to not remember. I promised her she was healing but it would take time, and that she was NOT alone. Frankly, by the end of the call, I was in tears and swearing on everyone I held sacred that I was not lying to her.

Her neurological issues mean her emotions have no filter. When she is upset, or happy or confused, it is evident in her tone and facial expressions. It is truly hard to keep stoic and not break down when she is scared, stressed and confused.

Her brain is not accepting what is truly going on around her at those times. It is those times that I have to walk her through what happened and where she is. She is not “seeing” the staff as people who are there to help her. To her, they are characters of her mind, depending on “where” in her mind she is. Convincing her that they are there to help her heal can be a challenge at times.

She “sees” her mother and her brother Jim (Xhemil) often, both who have passed. We always try to ground her in reality and not humor her, in order to help her heal. It’s not easy to witness someone you love, someone so sweet and caring go through this. Words will never be enough to fully explain to anyone, unless you witness it yourself.

Her boyfriend in Amsterdam, Martijn, has been wonderful in making sure she is being cared for. He brings her the foods she loves, in order to get her appetite where it needs to be and helps to keep her grounded. His video calls to me during the visits are the only times I see her looking happy and more herself.

Below are some pictures and a video. Again, we would appreciate any donations to assist her in the long struggle ahead. Please feel free to contact me on the Contact Page and I, her sister Femide, will get back to you as quickly as possible.