Friday, March 27, 2015

Say Everybody

namastay in bed

...have you heard, I had a stroke:

This is a very pleasant 47 year old female who has no significant past medical history and came into the emergency room on a stroke alert with stroke-like symptoms. The patient states around approximately 7:45pm she was at a funeral sitting down on a couch when she developed sudden onset of slurred speech, left upper and lower extremity weakness as well as episode of dizziness which she describes as a light-headed sensation. Her significant other who is at the bedside attempted to have her grip with both her hands. He noted that the left side was completely flaccid. He attempted to give her some water; however he noted that she was having some drooling out the left side as she was unable to keep her mouth closed. Paramedics were immediately called and she was brought into the emergency room on a stroke alert.

Her stroke score was 8 in the emergency room. She was going to receive TPA; however on evaluation by the emergency room physician, her symptoms had resolved and she was able to use her left side without any further weakness.

So, that happened. That was three weeks ago: from the ER I was sent to the ICU hooked up to a heparin drip, and then I feel like it was two days before I had enough heparin in me to be allowed off the drip so I could have an MRI. Then like a day waiting for somebody to read the MRI and tell me about it. Then after being told I would be sent home on blood thinners and taught to jab myself in my belly fat with a needle for that purpose, a quick decision to send me to surgery to remove the clot they found in my right carotid. Surgery the next day, then a fretful sleep hooked up to an A-line the better to measure my blood pressure with, then unhooked from everything and sent home and told I could go back to work the next day if I wanted. Do not want.

Doesn't that seem bananas? I really wanted to stay in the nice hospital bed for just one day and night not hooked to things, so I could sleep comfortably and still get food delivered. But actually it was even better to sleep in my own bed, and do nothing for the rest of the week. I had no motivation, which I imagine was therapeutic. All I was doing was sleeping, hydrating, peeing, and eating edible arrangements that I got from work and from Trouble and Aaron. Those things are genius, what you really need out of the hospital is healthy easy food that tastes good. Otherwise MJ was making me ramen with tofu, egg, and spinach, or we were ordering from Mon Lung and eating that through the week. And TS brought me ice cream and Pringles.

At the end of the week MJ suggested that we could go on a walk. At this point I've been basically immobile for an entire week—apart from now I gleefully get up to pee on my own, whenever I want, it's still not old—and from my house to the Division blue line seems really, really far, let alone going down stairs and maybe having to stand on the train and then going up stairs. In fact on our Saturday morning walk, I chickened out of going down the stairs. Then Sunday morning I was supposed to go to the grocery store and that seemed like a forever trip, too, so I didn't. Sunday evening, though, we walked to the blue line and down the stairs.

So Monday, back to work. I sat on a regular chair instead of my stability ball, it was actually a restful and engaging day, it felt better to do stuff than watch at this point I'm watching Ghost Whisperer. In the hospital and first days home, it was Hawaii Five-0. I've since switched to Supernatural, which I like. Anyway, I worked Tuesday just for kicks and was actually going for all five days, but by the end of Wednesday I was thinking that I wasn't going to make it to Thursday and went home and straight to bed, seriously, I was in bed by 5:30 until I woke up at 8:00 Thursday feeling like I had been run over by a car. My work is being really great about this, so they were fine about me staying home. That rested me enough to work Friday.

So then, weekend, popped into Fury extra practice Sunday afternoon. (I mean, not to practice, just to bounce on a bouncy ball in the infield and give notes.) This week has been doctor's appointments—followup with the surgeon, and now I have a new all-in-one g.p and gyne, which is fab—and working Tuesday, Thursday, and today, and going back to work with clients, spread out nicely over the week so no day is too long.

This weekend is IKC, which I am not playing in, obvs, and after which I am retiring. Not because of all this, I've been planning to retire after this season, that's why I didn't try out for travel teams this season. But, this is my farve insurance.

That pretty much catches me back up to the present, and maybe using this space to put my life back together.