Thursday October 9, 2008 is a day I hope to remember for some time, though I wish it did not happen. I was at my son Cody’s apartment, resting on the couch, talking with my daughter Karri. Out of nowhere I felt numbness around my mouth, into my tongue, making me to have a thick tongue feeling, and down my left arm. This lasted for 7 to 10 minutes and during the time I continued talking with Karri. Yes, she noticed it and I did too. Then I got a horrible headache around my temple and then in the lower back right area of my head. Next was the tunnel vision that affected the left eye peripheral vision. There was a slight effect to the right but not near as bad as the left. It was like a 5 inch cylinder was in front of my eyes angled to the right instead of straight ahead. Karri suggested that I go to the hospital but I, being very stubborn, did not feel the need to go have it checked out. Karri and I were going to go eat and walk at the park and take pictures. That is what was important to me at that time.
The headache continued that evening and through the night but I did not have any more numbness. Later Friday afternoon Cody and I went to Lowes to pick up some items for a project that he was doing. The peripheral vision was really noticeable while walking around Lowes. About half way through our time there I knew that I needed to go have it checked. So after we checked out I told Cody to lead me to the hospital. Yes, I was driving and no, I should not have been. One of my hesitations to going to the hospital was the location of where we were. The area where Cody lives is in a small town in southeastern Kentucky. Coming from and living in larger metropolitan areas I had problems with the small town hospital. I will not make this mistake again.
At the hospital I talked to the triage nurse and from there I waited a short time in the waiting room. From the waiting room they took me to do two things. One was take blood and the other was a CT scan. This was prior to even seeing a doctor, based on what I had told the nurse and her conveying it to the ER doctor. The CT scan was negative and was advised once I was taken into a room. The doctor came in and we talked and pretty much right away, after our discussion, he felt it necessary to have me admitted. He sought out two other doctors that did a preliminary exam that included 12 steps to seeing if I may have had a stroke. Yes, by this time I am a bit worried. After the exam they were in agreement that I should be admitted and set up for more tests the next morning. I think that this was pretty impressive for the ER. The next morning, after being admitted I was taken for an MRI and a sonogram of my carotid arteries. I was seen by several doctors and also a neurologist. They were all in agreement that I had a stroke but were still waiting on confirmation from the MRI. The bedside manner of each and every one of the doctors was excellent. I had my moments of panic and distress. What was nice was they were very reassuring. The stroke had not been bad, meaning it could have been worse. I came to the hospital soon after, but no not as fast as I should have, and I recovered quickly afterwards. The good thing is that I will be able to hopefully do the right things and prevent it from occurring again. Yes, the MRI confirmed the stroke. I have a slight blockage in the lower right back side of my brain. We believe that part of it broke off and then stopped the blood flow causing the stroke. This is still to be determined by continued testing. We are waiting on results of a few tests already plus follow up care will be a necessity.
At the hospital I talked to the triage nurse and from there I waited a short time in the waiting room. From the waiting room they took me to do two things. One was take blood and the other was a CT scan. This was prior to even seeing a doctor, based on what I had told the nurse and her conveying it to the ER doctor. The CT scan was negative and was advised once I was taken into a room. The doctor came in and we talked and pretty much right away, after our discussion, he felt it necessary to have me admitted. He sought out two other doctors that did a preliminary exam that included 12 steps to seeing if I may have had a stroke. Yes, by this time I am a bit worried. After the exam they were in agreement that I should be admitted and set up for more tests the next morning. I think that this was pretty impressive for the ER. The next morning, after being admitted I was taken for an MRI and a sonogram of my carotid arteries. I was seen by several doctors and also a neurologist. They were all in agreement that I had a stroke but were still waiting on confirmation from the MRI. The bedside manner of each and every one of the doctors was excellent. I had my moments of panic and distress. What was nice was they were very reassuring. The stroke had not been bad, meaning it could have been worse. I came to the hospital soon after, but no not as fast as I should have, and I recovered quickly afterwards. The good thing is that I will be able to hopefully do the right things and prevent it from occurring again. Yes, the MRI confirmed the stroke. I have a slight blockage in the lower right back side of my brain. We believe that part of it broke off and then stopped the blood flow causing the stroke. This is still to be determined by continued testing. We are waiting on results of a few tests already plus follow up care will be a necessity.
I have stated all this to come up with this conclusion. Number one is that if something happens to you physically and you have no answer to what happened, don’t hesitate to go to the hospital, no matter what hospital that is. Next I would have to say do not take anything for granted. The time you have with your family or friends could be the last time you ever spend with them. I am only 47 and this could have been much more serious than it was, I WAS LUCKY, and this was even said by the doctors. Finally, I can say it was a wake up call, or God saying, “Hey, I am still in charge here”, but what ever it may be, take every moment you have and live it accordingly. You are not the one in control. I feel that this is a life altering experience for me. What is going to happen next, I do not know. I feel there are things I need to make better and improve upon. Plus I want to remain more open for what may come my way. Just settling is not going to be enough, I want to make sure of each and every decision that I make from now on. After all that decision that I make could be the very last one I ever make. I want it to be said that even though during the early part of my lifetime I had things go, not according to plan, that in the end, I waited and made proper decisions that were best for all those involved.
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