If I am not around for a while it is because my partner of 37 years has had a stroke. Happened last night. Am with family. We got him to the Hospital right away by ambulance and clot busters were given right away. Was in the MCA at M-1 branch. Knocked out his left side, so was a right sided stroke. Slurred speech and no swallow. Clot large and visible on scan. They were taking him for a procedure in cath lab to remove the clot when the busters disintegrated it and everything came back, speech and movement. Just a tiny vision blank in outer left eye. He will be touch and go to hope he doesn't bleed with the clot busters, and they can be tough on kidneys. At 84 he's no kid so he's in neuro-intensive. I will update here as this goes along.This is, of course, what all we elders lie in bed fearing will happen to one of the other of us. And it did. My DIL says "See, you TOLD us so....".
AS TO STROKES please listen to me now:No waiting around. It is 911 immediately to the ER. Addressing it with clot busters can leave you good as new and ignoring it can leave you in the nursing home. Your best change at quality life is to get to the ER as fast as you can. Never ignore symptoms of a stoke.
Give us an update when you can, following today's appt.
Praying for your mind and body to feel God's peace that passes understanding. We don't need you wiping out! ◡̈
but he believes in you.
The update? "You are one lucky man; must have been quite a week". Needless to say they are quite amazed and seems no medical has anything to say but "He got there RIGHT AWAY; that's the key". He tests totally normal. Started on pradaxa, Kaiser's better answer to Eliquis; it acts the same, eating up the fibrin in any clots it finds. Means you better hold pressure after those blood draws. It doesn't let your blood clot. Not a good time to be a stabbing victim.
He is to resume EVERYTHING in his normal life and given low pressure, very slender, low cholesterol, and ONLY the atrial fib as the one thing that predisposes him to stroke, he is to think of this as perhaps a 1 x thing and resume life as he knows it. He is currently walking Frieda out alone; and I must let him.
And when you think of it, at 84? What's to be lost by NOT doing it that way. I will have to give up being afraid for him. I believed he was leaving me and I recall calmly saying to myself "this is where I lose Neil and this is where life as I know it changes forever."
I mean we both have known for years that at some point some THING......etc. One of us WILL leave the other. And I know more surely than anything now that he was ready to leave and I could have let him do so--but the thought of a nursing home and the results of a bad stroke? Our idea of a hell on earth.
Gershun, if god's a "believer" there's no stopping it becaue I think we either have the belief gene or not. I don't. If God does I am glad for any gifts he has thrown my way. I have had an enormous number of gifts in my life, and for each I am enormously grateful. Just not certain to WHOM? I love churches, hymns, pomp, cathedrals, cemeteries, prayers, the poetry of the bible, the Saints and know them all and their stories. I mean I would have made the BEST DANGED CATHOLIC were it not for my unbelief. And who could see Audrey Hepburn in A Nun's Story and not want to be one; I sure did. And wanted to look like her as well.
Like I always say, my atheism isn't a life CHOICE. It's just that I never believed. Go figure? I sure can't. But in 82 years, and much as I pretend otherwise, I don't have the answers to too much.
Thanks again to all for all the good support and loving kindness and gentle caring.
I saw your post on fostering and I think fosters are great. You can really know an animal in a home setting and like you said have the dog of a pet without ownership. Many rescues will pay vet care for fosters.
Thanks, recovery seems COMPLETE. Supposedly just over 10% recover COMPLETELY even when they get there FAST and get the clot busters FAST. Many still have deficits.
Neil does NOT. He saw the doc and he is to go on as though this never happened with minor changes in his drugs, and with replacing his baby aspirin now he is in chronic atrial fib (was in and out, which they say can be WORSE, actually) with Pradaxa (that one and eliquis work the same. They don't thin the blood but rather they stop clot formation by little pacmen that come along and eat the fibrin that forms clots. All's well unless someone attempts to stab him to death? Because his blood won't clot great).
So that is apparently it. I can tell you that seeing him unable to move anything but his right side minimally, and all garbled in the speech and confused last Thursday evening to seeing him for all intent and purposes as tho it NEVER HAPPENED is a picture in surrealism. As a nurse I never saw a recovery like this. EVER! I can't quite grasp it. I keep thinking he should not walk the dog alone, should not drive, all this stuff, and I am told to "leave him be and do life as normal". BIZARRE for this old nurse. I do the BP/pulse in the morning. And I try to shut up (NEVER EASY FOR ME).
So for myself, this thread is done. For now? It is scary. I'll own that.
But on we go.
Your PTSD and reliving the stuff , will take time, I'm sure you know.
When I thought my husband was dead for 3 hours, being lost in New Orleans, I needed him in my seeing view for a long time. Then if he went to the store to long, if he bumped into someone, for a chat, and didn't have his cell phone with him, I'd loose it. Now he is somewhat getting use to bringing his cell with him, and I test him him on my cell number so he knows it by heart.
But it will get better where you won't worry so much.
I think I'm getting him a dog tag, on are next trip, lol that way he will at least have my number with him.