Wednesday, November 21, 2012

My Hospital Stay

What a wild ride this past week has been. Not even a week! This may be a long post.

It started a few weeks ago actually when I started getting these headaches and dizziness that would go away. I started getting these headaches on the 7th of November. I didn't think too much of them, but they were BAD headaches. I took advil but they wouldn't really fully go away.

The day it all got very very bad was on Friday, the 16th. Nick needed to go up to his job site because he needed a permit number. Well, he never got the chance. After getting both kids (I already had Gretchen at home) and driving through downtown, I got a weird sensation. I had just turned around to tell Dominick something (Nick was driving) when I got a heavy feeling in my legs arms. I turned back around really quick and it almost felt as if it went away. Nick asked when was wrong and when I told him, he told me I had too much stuff in my lap and I needed to breathe.

He took a bunch of stuff out of my lap and when he did, I realized I could barely move my right leg. My left leg was fine though.

I was thinking maybe it fell asleep, but it wasn't a tingling feeling, it was HEAVY. Almost as if a lead weight was attached to my leg. Then I could feel it spread. The heavy feeling went up my right side and I couldn't move my arm. Again, only my right arm and not my left. At this point I started to freak out. We were stuck in traffic and I couldn't move any part of my right side. I kept smiling at myself in the mirror an both sides were smiling so I wasn't completely freaking out, but I was scared.

Then was the scariest thing to happen yet. I felt it go up to my face. When I felt it in my face, it was tingles and it wasn't just my face, my whole right side started tingling. I opened the mirror and smiled in the mirror and my worst fear was confirmed. I was only smiling with my left side of my face.

About the same time that happened, I lost my speech. I couldn't make out any words. They were just noises. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't make the words come out.

We had already been headed up north, so Nick brought me to Christian Northeast. We had all three kids with us so Nick pulled up to the ER and helped me out. He locked the kids in the car until he could get me in. I had told him I could walk but I was way wrong. He practically carried me in and a security guard brought me a wheelchair. Nick went back out to the car and brought the kids in and waited for my parents to get there.

They kept asking me questions and I knew the answers but I couldn't say them. I'm sure it was frustrating for a lot of people.

I just got home last night. I had a million tests done. 2 CT scans (one with contrast and one without), MRI, MRA, TEE, 2 D Echo, too many vials of blood to even count. At least 20. And by the time this is all said and done, they aren't 100% sure what happened to me. They are "suspecting" that I had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA - or mini stroke) but they aren't positive. I had something happen that has affected my brain though. Even typing I know it's different than it used to be. But it's ok, it's not starting from scratch. It's like I just forgot where some of the letters are located on the keyboard. I'll be back to a fast typist again soon, I'm sure.

I'm off of birth control and back onto a blood thinner (something I was told would be fine because my disorder isn't a big deal but clearly it is more of a big deal than any of us realized). I'm still trying to shake this headache and somehow I caught a virus in the hospital and have been throwing up a lot lately, but I think that's on the way out. I've been drinking a lot of alka-seltzer and eating basically popsicles and crackers.

I have an appointment with a stroke neurologist on Tuesday. Hopefully they can figure some stuff out, because I have to go to work 1 week from today!

I'm very thankful to the many people who came up or called or texted while I was in the hospital. I know on Sunday and Monday I was in NO mood for company so I'm sorry I didn't talk to any of you. But the balloons, flowers, everything was beautiful and it means a lot to me.

I'm so happy to be home. Even though I still feel weak and kind of sick, I'd much rather be here than in the hospital. I'm so thankful to get to see my kids! I missed them being away from all 3 for 4 whole days. And I missed my husband.

Ok, that's enough. Sorry if I just bored you to tears! I'm actually feeling so much better that Gretchen and I are headed to JCPenneys to buy our Thanksgiving outfits! Wish me luck!

1 comment:

Sara said...

Hey I am just now reading this - my god - I hope they figure out what happened and keep it from ever happening again. I know it's a little late but I'm thinking about you and your family!