When STROKE struck, not once but twice!
There was no pain. It crept slowly.
It was a fairly easy day on May 8,2012. I was able to log out from work early to pack for a trip that night to Ilocos Norte to join Barangay Officials on their annual Lakbay-aral and share some thoughts on a topic they wanted me to discuss.
Packing was done leisurely as I had hours to spare. After packing, I started to work on my lecture outline and multi-media presentation. With FOUR doughnuts on the side and my laptop on hand, work commenced.
As I was working, I felt weird -- sleepy, dizzy, weak. Thinking it was due to staring at the computer for quite some time, taking a power nap was my logical remedy. When I woke up, the weird feeling was still there. I got up, combed my hair... dropped the comb. I walked to the table, grabbed my notes on a paper... I dropped the paper. Weird...
As it was getting dark, around 6:30, I decided to go down from my pad, cross the street to my parents' house and have dinner before my trip at 9 that night. My mother and I were talking about the trip and the "pasalubong" she wanted as I ate. Then I dropped my fork...
I am not clumsy, but I dropped a comb, a note and a fork minutes apart from when I held them and all within 20 minutes.
My mind went on emergency mode.
I remembered a Facebook post once that said if you felt weird for no obvious reason try to RAISE BOTH YOUR ARMS STRAIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU PALMS DOWN, IF ONE ARM FALLS UNCONTROLLABLY, YOU'RE PROBABLY HAVING A STROKE! The post also said put out your tongue and check if it is skewed to the right or left, normal is straight. Also, to try to say a simple sentence and it should be clear and not garbled.
I tried the arms...my right arm refused to stay up and was slowly falling down.
Calmly, I asked my mother to tell our driver to take me to the emergency admissions as I think I might be having a stroke.
My vital signs upon admission confirmed my suspicion. My blood pressure was more than 200 and my blood sugar level was through the roof at 300. CT-scan results confirmed I just had a hemorrhagic stroke. A teeny tiny vessel burst in my brain. My face sagged and got a bit skewed, and my grip weakened. Speaking was also difficult and garbled.
After a few hours I started feeling better - face back to normal, speech clear,strength back on, vital signs normal and eventually stabilized. I was discharged from the hospital after three days. STROKE STRIKE ONE.
I took things slowly from that day and especially religiously took my medicines and watched the food I ate closely.
One afternoon, to pass time while waiting for my scheduled doctor's appointment I went to the mall for some quick errands. While walking, i noticed some near mis-steps. I raised my arms to check. They were steadily parallel to each other. But the weird feeling was slowly creeping in. We decided to come early for my appointment.
This time my doctor said " You are having a stroke in progress."
Within hours after i was admitted, 10 days after my discharge from the same hospital, my right side lost strength dramatically, speech totally deteriorated and CT-scan showed a pin-sized blood clot in my brain. STROKE STRIKE TWO.
This time my mind was quite empty.
Q & A later... emotions at a stand still... I went to my happy place.
... this too shall pass.
