Bloozcat
May 11th, 2009, 07:33 AM
To say the least, yesterday was one heck of a draining day for me...
My wife and I were attending church service yesterday as we frequently do on Sundays. At the end of the service my wife told me that she wasn't feeling very well. She said she was dizzy, nauseous, and just felt really weird in a way she couldn't explain. As I asked her more about what she was feeling, she said that she had a pain in the right side of her neck, and felt a slight tingling in her right arm. About this time another church member (who happened to be an EMT) noticed my wife's distress and came over to assist. We each asked my wife a serious of questions to gauge her verbal response...which was not very good. She was having difficulty verbalizing her answers, and seemed generally confused.
Well, to anyone who knows the symptoms, it appeared that my wife might be having a stroke. Both the EMT and I thought the same thing. Calculating that it would be much faster than calling for an ambulence, we quickly got my wife to our car and I sped off to the emergency room. While being admitted the hospital staff began asking the same leading questions to gauge my wife's response. Then they calmly and quickly moved her to a room where they began to check all of her vitals. Then it was quickly off for a CAT scan, and then a CT scan of the right side of her neck to check the Cartoid artery.
Fortunately, all the tests came back negative and the doctors could not find a direct cause for the symptoms my wife presented. During this time, I was on the phone with two doctor friends of ours who both assured me that "nothing" was a good thing because it ruled out any obvious and potentially debilitating causes like blood clots and blockages. As the day went on, my wife's speech returned to normal, and she ended the day with just slight dizziness when she would get up to use the rest room, and that was about it. The neurologist spoke with my wife in between times that I was in the room with my wife, so I didn't hear first hand what she had to say. But, I do know that the Dr. ordered an MRI for today specifically to look at the lower part of the brain (brain stem/Medulla Oblongota) to check that last part of the brain for any damage. According to my wife, the Dr. seemed to view this as more of a precaution so as to rule out any specific brain injury.
My wife should be discharged today, and as is her usual self - eager to get back to work (she even made me bring her some work to do while in the hospital bed last night). Both the hospital Dr.'s and my doctor friends mentioned a possible TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack or "mini-stroke") as the cause, but that has not been determined conclusively and often can't be confirmed.
My wife is as healthy as one can be. She exercises daily, eats really well, and as all of the ancillary tests from yesterday showed, she has no unhealthy indicators at all. None. So, while I'm greatly relieved that my wife didn't have a stroke or a tear of the Cartoid artery, I'm still concerned as to what exactly it was that caused the symptoms that came on so suddenly and in such an incapacitating way. Hopefully, I'll find out more today...
My wife and I were attending church service yesterday as we frequently do on Sundays. At the end of the service my wife told me that she wasn't feeling very well. She said she was dizzy, nauseous, and just felt really weird in a way she couldn't explain. As I asked her more about what she was feeling, she said that she had a pain in the right side of her neck, and felt a slight tingling in her right arm. About this time another church member (who happened to be an EMT) noticed my wife's distress and came over to assist. We each asked my wife a serious of questions to gauge her verbal response...which was not very good. She was having difficulty verbalizing her answers, and seemed generally confused.
Well, to anyone who knows the symptoms, it appeared that my wife might be having a stroke. Both the EMT and I thought the same thing. Calculating that it would be much faster than calling for an ambulence, we quickly got my wife to our car and I sped off to the emergency room. While being admitted the hospital staff began asking the same leading questions to gauge my wife's response. Then they calmly and quickly moved her to a room where they began to check all of her vitals. Then it was quickly off for a CAT scan, and then a CT scan of the right side of her neck to check the Cartoid artery.
Fortunately, all the tests came back negative and the doctors could not find a direct cause for the symptoms my wife presented. During this time, I was on the phone with two doctor friends of ours who both assured me that "nothing" was a good thing because it ruled out any obvious and potentially debilitating causes like blood clots and blockages. As the day went on, my wife's speech returned to normal, and she ended the day with just slight dizziness when she would get up to use the rest room, and that was about it. The neurologist spoke with my wife in between times that I was in the room with my wife, so I didn't hear first hand what she had to say. But, I do know that the Dr. ordered an MRI for today specifically to look at the lower part of the brain (brain stem/Medulla Oblongota) to check that last part of the brain for any damage. According to my wife, the Dr. seemed to view this as more of a precaution so as to rule out any specific brain injury.
My wife should be discharged today, and as is her usual self - eager to get back to work (she even made me bring her some work to do while in the hospital bed last night). Both the hospital Dr.'s and my doctor friends mentioned a possible TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack or "mini-stroke") as the cause, but that has not been determined conclusively and often can't be confirmed.
My wife is as healthy as one can be. She exercises daily, eats really well, and as all of the ancillary tests from yesterday showed, she has no unhealthy indicators at all. None. So, while I'm greatly relieved that my wife didn't have a stroke or a tear of the Cartoid artery, I'm still concerned as to what exactly it was that caused the symptoms that came on so suddenly and in such an incapacitating way. Hopefully, I'll find out more today...