I am a Stroke Survivor, Part 1

It was Wednesday, June 6th, 2007. Terri and I were planning to fly to North Carolina for vacation on the following Friday. I was at work clearing out my pre-vacation to do's. It was lunch time and I was spending it as I usually do, quietly in my cube eating a salad and reading my email. I do recall that I was a little tired and attributed it to yesterday's blood donation followed by mowing the lawn in the summer heat.

I remember pressing the print button and getting up to go pick up the printed email from the printer. My next memory is that I was slumped over the printer as a friend and peer manager was asking me what was wrong. Later I was told that I had been seen clumsily wandering the floor, bouncing off of cube walls, and unresponsive to those I encountered.

After stumbling into one cube, I frightened and worried the resident enough that he reported it to his manager. I stated to the peer manager who found me that I was fine, just a little tired, I had a sinus problem and might have lost my balance. I could have come up with 10 more excuses, but she wasn't buying any of it. I was sat down in a chair, and another co-worker with a medical background took a closer look at me. He too thought that something was not right.


My boss was informed and the para-medics were called. Upon arrival, the para-medics also saw that something was not right with me. They questioned me on drug and alcohol use, and pressed hard on whether I had been dringing over lunch. After repeated denials the para-medics made the decision to transport me to the hospital based on their assessment that I probably had some sort of medical issue.


I was wheeled out of my place of business on a gurney as many of my co-workers watched. My boss called Terri and informed her of the situation and then followed the ambulance to the emergency room of St. Luke's South Hospital. I was quickly admitted to a triage room and assessed. Blood was drawn and sent for testing.


I felt normal and was responsive when Terri arrived at the hospital. She did notice that I displayed some left sided facial droop. The ER doctor indicated that I had probably experienced a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) sometimes referred to as a mini-stroke. Since these are by nature "transient" and do not leave lasting damage, there was thought that I would be prescribed medication and released with follow up testing. I asked to use the restroom and got out of bed. My left knee gave out and I stumbled. That was TIA #2. Immediate release was now out of the question and I was admitted to ICU.

My case was given to a neurologist who determined from an MRI that I have a genetic narrowing of an artery in my head, and this was the likely location of the TIA. The source of whatever temporarily stuck in the narrowing was now the issue that needed an answer. Some consideration was given to placing a shunt in the artery however, as the neurologist put it, prior attempts with other patients has less than desirable outcomes (what did that mean?).

ICU was an interesting place with private rooms and lots of nurse attention. The nursing staff commented on how I did not fit the profile for an ICU patient or a stroke victim as I did not smoke, had low cholesterol and average blood pressure. Regardless, there I was in an ICU room after having the most significant medical event of my life.


I will continue this story tomorrow as I went through a battery of tests in an attempt to find the source of a clot or plaque that may have led to the TIA. At this point, my main goal was to get released from the hospital in time to make a Friday morning flight to North Carolina. The neurologist led me to believe it was still possible, even as Terri tried to dissuade him. After all, she did not want to get stuck in North Carolina with a sick husband.