News Years Eve
On New Years Eve 2003 I was getting dressed to go to my fiance's sister's home for dinner and too announce our engagement. Suddenly I felt like my left side fell asleep and was numb. I also had a slight headache, so I laid down for about 15 minutes and although the headache subsided, the numbness and pins and needles did not. I was feeling this way for about an hour. I phoned EMS and said I thought I was having a stroke. I then called my daughter and told her I had called EMS. At this point I fell on the floor from the chair I was sitting in and began vomiting up bile because nothing was in my stomach. EMS knocked on the door but I was crawling on the floor and couldn't open it. I hollered I was there and they said just hold on we will get in. Apparently they got management to let them in and off we went. I remember telling them to get my purse and them saying how pretty my Christmas tree was - after that I remember a Priest giving me last rights at the hospital and thinking - no the guy I could see in the next area needed his last rights but not me. After that I was in a coma for 3 days. When I woke up there was lots of flowers but I did not know I was completely paralyzed on my left side and my mobility had been devastated, I had no speech problems and cognitively I was fine. Prior to my stroke I knew nothing about strokes. I thought this was a very temporary condition. Hah! Little did I know the recovery journey would be from now on. After 2 weeks I asked my physician could I go home, He said nooooo! I was so ignorant I just wanted to go home, watch cable and light my fireplace with a glass of wine. After a limited amount of physical therspy, and being hospitalized for 3 weeks,, I again asked could I go home - the doctor said if I could move just my pinky on my left side, I could be released. Oh my goodness, I assured him that I could do that in a week. At midnight I was working sooooo hard to move my pinky finger or anything else on my left side. On January 30th the doctor came to see me and I moved my finger and went home. I lived alone although I cold have gone to live with my daughters, but I was determined to be independent so since I asked my doctor if I could have 2 glases of dry red wine a night, light my fireplace and enjoy cable and got a yes, I was a happy camper. Home at last. Next chapter - What an adjustment!
