Hospital Stay

Sometimes something happens out of the blue that makes you realize how fragile life is.

For me, that happened on the morning of Tuesday, July 26. I was sitting in the living room, reading from my Amazon Fire tablet, when I started noticing a strange visual phenomenon. Off to the right perifphery of my right eye, I started seeing bright, jaggy lines in neon colors. At first I thought it was a reflection in my glasses from something behind me. But there was only a wall behind me, and when I took off my glasses, the little lightning bolts continued. I really didn't think too much of it, and continued reading.

A few minutes later I went to my desk to continue with a computer project I'd been working on for several days. I worked on it for 30 minutes or so, and then - very suddenly - the right side of my face (including my tongue), my right arm, and my right leg all went numb. It was very scary. I immediately thought, "Am I having a stroke?" so I went into the bathroom next to my office and looked into the mirror. There were no drooping face muscles, and I was able to smile naturally, but I was still all tingly and numb. I went back to my desk chair and thought I'd shut down the computer program I had been working on, but I was kind of confused and couldn't think how to do it. So I went into the bedroom, where Dan was finishing getting ready for the day. I was unsteady and kind of reeling as I walked in there. I sat down and said to Dan, "Sonething's really wrong with me!" And then I explained what was happening. He took me to a comfortable chair in the living room and asked me some questions, then said he was calling 911, which he did. In about 10 minutes the EMTs arrived at our house. They spent a while evaluating me. By the time they were done, I was feeling perfectly fine again, thought a bit shaky. They said it sounded like a TIA (mini-stroke), and that I really needed to go to the ER. Although they offered an ambulance, I chose to go in our own car, with Dan.

We got to the ER about 10:30 a.m. and spent all day there. I was taken back a few times, - once for an EKG, once for a CT-scan, once for blood work - but always returned to the waiting room. I was finally taken to an exam room around 5:00 p.m. I was comfortable, lying on the bed while I waited. I hadn't had a bite to eat all day, so the nurse brought me a dry turkey sandwich, which took the edge off my hunger. Finally a doctor came in and, like the EMTs, said that I may have had a TIA, and that he wanted to keep me in the hospital over-night, for observation and tests. There wasn't a hospital room available right then, so I stayed in that ER exam room until 10:15 p.m., when they took me up to the neurology floor and settled me into a very comfortable room for the night. I didn't sleep much. Of course, the nurses were coming in every couple of hours to take my vitals or to draw blood, but mostly, I think, I was just dealing with an adrenalin-high.

On Wednesday a parade of individual doctors and teams of doctors came and went, each of them running me through "stroke tests," which I always passed with flying colors. I didn't appear to have any symptoms remaining from the event, which strengthened their theory that I had experienced a TIA, not a full stroke.

Later in the day I was taken for an MRI (brain scan) and and MRA (artery scan). The MRA showed no blockages in my arteries. The MRI showed one small infarct (injury or death of tissue resulting form inadequate blood supply). It only showed on one of the MRI "slices" and was very tiny. It looked like a small BB on the image. However, because of this, my "event" was no longer considered a TIA, but an actual stroke, though a small one. By definition, I was told, no brain damage happens with a TIA.

The day ended, on Wednesday, before they were able to get me in for an echocardiogram, so I had to spend another night in the hospital, and we hoped that the echocardiogram could be scheduled on Thursday.

Around 2:00 p.m. on Thursday I went for the echocardiogram, which ultimately showed a well-functioning heart. My doctor came in around 5:00 p.m. to tell me that he was going to discharge me. Discharges are not quick! It was more like 8:00 p.m. when I went home with Dan, who had been there for me throughout this experience.

The adventure isn't over completely. I have a number of follow-up appointments with a few doctors. At one of those appointments, we will discuss whether or not I should have an ILR (Implantable Loop Recorder) implanted beneath the skin in my chest, to record the electrical activity of my heart. The primary doctor I had at the hospital didn't seem to think that was necessary, but the neurology team recommended it. We shall see.

I am also on a couple of new medications. All of these precautions are to reduce the likelihood of having another stroke in the future.

I am so thankful to God that this event left me with no residual damage at all. And I'm looking at it as a wake-up call. My doctors all agreed that I have no restrictions on activity now, except for the fact that I will be low on energy for a few weeks, as my brain tries to heal. Yesterday, Friday, I went to lunch with three "gal-friends" and it was such a joy to get back to some normalcy and to experience the love of these good friends.