Re: probably OT - my last 6 days

[Guest guest]

My Dear Sherry,

I am among all of those that love you, and are thrilled that you can be

home. Enough said for now. I have to go to bed, but then I can sleep in until

ten

if I want to. (smile)

Love a lot, And a happy welcome back home.

Imogene

In a message dated 10/21/2008 10:52:41 PM Central Daylight Time,

upnorth@... writes:

What happened to me?

I don't know. At 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, I awoke with a headache but was

able to get back to sleep. When I got up at 8:30 I had the worst headache

of my life - my body started shaking uncontrollably - I started vomiting -

and the worst thing, I had expressive aphasia, the inability to verbalize.

Pete called 911, they took to me Mercy Hospital in Grayling because it was

the closest/quickest. My mind was working, I heard and understood

everything that was going on, but when I opened my mouth to speak, all I

heard was " oh no, oh no, oh no " and couldn't say anything else.

At the ER the team started working on me. It is scary with a dozen people

rushing around the room doing things to me, asking questions I couldn't

answer, and making assumptions about me that I couldn't correct. I was so

thankful when they let Pete come in and I was able to carefully write,

" Think ok. " He asked if I was saying I could think and I did a thumbs up...

Thursday was a blur of scans and tests and people but most of all the

incredible pain in my head...I was admitted, and thankfully, by afternoon I

was again able to speak. For next 4 days the pain rarely abated except for

a few blessed minutes after each pain shot, nor the vomiting, and every

sound or movement escalated my agony. Multiple doctors came through, along

with therapists (speech, physical, occupational) and others. Over and over

again I heard the word stroke. Their associated home health care company

got us set up for future visits (nursing/OT/PT). It went on and on and on.

The different doctors explained things differently: most strokes are caused

by a blockage of the blood supply, some are caused by bleeding in the brain

(but only about 20%) and the scans all ruled that out. Some are caused by

arterial spasms - something with which I'm familiar in my prinzmetal's

angina. Most people think of massive strokes that cause paralysis or death;

many aren't that severe (for which I'm thankful!). Our good Lord created

our brains to try and heal itself, so when there is a blockage of blood

supply to a part of the brain, it will immediately try to re-establish the

supply. When it is successful within 24 hours, that is called a transient

stroke (see

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/transient_ischemic_attack_mini-stroke/article_e

m.htm).

Most don't cause the pain that I experienced, and definitely for such a long

time, but it's not unheard of...

I came home late this afternoon, and will follow up with a neurologist; I'm

on a new drug regimen, and it'll apparently now be his job to find the

cause. Since a transient stroke (or TIA) is often a warning of something

more serious to come, I'll definitely follow up.

Meanwhile, after 6 days in the hospital, 4 of them flat on my back in bed

(and the 5th " up in a chair for meals " ) I'm amazed at how much stregth and

stamina I've lost. A week ago I was superwoman - now I can't walk down my

hallway without a rest, I'm light-headed and dizzy all the time, it's hard

to think some things through logically, short of breath on almost every

exertion...I found it impossible to type anything but gibberish until today,

and have been practicing, the occupational therapist said in a few days it

will be fine; right now I just type like a beginner and spend more time

back-spacing than anything . And I can play my keyboard...badly, but I

can. A couple of days ago I couldn't have. I have both barbituates and

narcotics to keep the pain under control when needed (yes, I still have the

headache, but at a more bearable level; it's just my body reminding to me

follow through and follow up and find out why!), along with other drugs.

And my brain is doing what it was created to do .

All that remains is to get my typing, keyboard playing, and stamina back up

to speed. I've set a personal goal to be 100% back to full speed by the end

of the month - caught up, everything. I won't be spending a whole lot of

time on emails the next few days until I get back in the swing with my

business, get my poor birds' cages cleaned as soon as I'm able, and

concentrate on other things, but I'm sure I'll be around my computer on and

off .

Before I close I want to thank the Academy...oh no, that's not right...<G>

but I do want to thank you for your prayers and concerns, I knew I could

count on my " sister from another mother " Heidi to keep my list and business

friends informed, while I just concentrated on recovering. I'm well aware

that it could have been so much worse (at least I've found out that my

cholesterol and other lipids, my blood sugar, my artereries, everything is

in good health and clean!). But being able to depend on Heidi (and Pete and

Casey and my sister Gwen) and God's promises to those who went to Him in

supplication, made all the difference for me. I don't want to generate more

list mail that is probably OT so if you want to reply (or have any helpful

experience/advice) please write to me privately.

So, that's the story, I tried to make it as short as I could, if you're

still readying, sleep tight and I'll wake you in time for breakfast - lol.

His,

Sherry

Houghton Lake, MI

www.owly.net

www.ittybittybirdiebites.com

www.lansingbugman.com

www.youtube.com/chiaowl

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