I have really not been looking forward to this part of my
story. It could be said that I have been procrastinating, even. But here goes.
On March 11, 2012, I woke up like it was any other Sunday. I cleaned the winter
debris from the backyard with Chris. I remember thinking how I never wanted to
do that again. Not this way, though. I went inside, ate lunch and tried to nap.
When I was unsuccessful, we decided to go shopping. Then we went to church that
evening. I started feeling weird during the service and needed to leave early.
I stayed sick that night, though I don’t remember much. I do
recall a lot of Googling (yes, I am aware that doctors prefer that patients
don’t self-diagnose) and physically restraining my sweet husband who just
wanted to call 911. Delaying a hospital visit is never a good idea for stroke
patients. That’s why the letter “T” is in the acronym F.A.S.T. It stands for face, arms, speech and time. Time. That’s why I had Chris call 911
when my tongue went numb and my eyes became misaligned. If only the ambulance people
and the emergency department staff would’ve picked up on what was happening to
me. Note: I didn’t have meningitis. That’s what was suspected at first. There
is a medication that can be given to stroke patients to prevent death or severe
disability. The key is early intervention. I know I have said this before, but
if you or someone you care about has a stroke, you want TPA—the clot-busting
drug.
More stalling… Life was never the same. I know people say that, but it literally
was different from that point forward. After I spent about a month in intensive
care in Kansas City, I went to a rehab hospital in Nebraska for about three months.
It was there we decided to sell our house. I wasn’t even finished decorating
yet.
Chris, like always, was my advocate in Nebraska; there was a
steady stream of visitors. He also cold-emailed a lady about technology with my
limited movement. At the time, by the way, I could only move my left foot. Now,
I can move both feet and hands. In other words, every improvement has taken a
long time. Now that I am back from my rabbit trail, the lady in Nebraska connected
me with Be Extraordinary. I am really glad they have been willing and able to work
with me.
After I left Nebraska, I lived in a nursing home in Johnson County,
Kan., for seven long months. I have never had a more difficult time in my life.
I will leave it at that.
I went home to a tiny apartment, also in Johnson County. I had never lived
there, but it was home because Chris and Piper were there. Piper is our now
blind geriatric Boston Terrier dog-daughter. We were happy there.
Then we moved back to Springfield to be closer to family. I am working on getting
established with doctors. My first occupational and physical therapy
appointments are this week. I met some nice neighbors this afternoon at the annual
neighborhood picnic.
I guess what I’m saying is I am gradually settling in. I have
nowhere to go but up.
This concludes my partial autobiography. Thanks for reading.
2 comments:
What a beautiful woman you are! I had seen that picture with your mother before but hadn't noticed how much you look like her until now! Thank you for sharing your story DIL. I love you.
MIL
Thanks for posting!
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