Hi Gang,

Phew, what a first week at home it has been.   Busy to be sure, but
still so good to be home!!!

While I have my personal assistant here (ROFL --- just kidding!
Actually a good friend of mine is here typing this for me!)  I could get
use to this dictating stuff though!!!

********First of all, let me just say that I share this long boring saga
not because I want any sympathy, but more so to be a lesson to others,
as well as a heads up to others to not be so slow in seeking help or so
stupid as to think that you can always handl everything on your own at
home, like I did!   Perhaps if I had gone to the ER to get some fluids
pumped in to me, I wouldn't be in this predicament now!!!******

OK, here is my saga.  

For about 3 days before I had my stroke, I had had some intestinal bug
and wasn't keeping much down.   On Dec. 30th, it seemed to get even
worse, and I had gotten to the point where I wasn't even keeping sips of
water down and wasn't sleeping much due to the constant nausea and
vomiting.   Sooooooo, about
4:30 a.m. (now dec. 31st), I threw on some old scrungy clothes and
decided to head for Meijers to get something over the counter to try and
calm the nausea and such.  I looked horrendous as I hadn't slept much,
hadn't showered, etc.  But, hey, I figured, who was going to see me
anyways.  I would run to Meijers and be back in my apartment in 20
minutes or so, so off I went.  Wrong!!!

Had literally just pulled in off the main road into the Meijers parking
lot when I was hit with a huge wave of nausea, lightheadedness, and
blurred vision.   Whoa, I thought, better stop the car before I get up
close to where everyone parks.    So, stopped the car and figured if I
got out of the car for a minute or two, the cool night air would revive
me a bit and I could then be on my way again.
Wrong again!!!  

I stood up out of the car and knew right away that something just wasn't
right, so sat back down on the seat with the door still open.   Knew I
was going to pass out, so very quickly grabbed my cell phone and dialed
9-1-1.   When they answered, I tried to tell them that I was sick and
needed help, but my words had started to slur, and don't know how much
sense I was making by that point.  That is the last thing I remember
until about 11:45 p.m that night.   Woke up in the CCMU (coronary care
medical unit) with all sorts of people hovering over me and asking me
lots of questions.  I was still a bit too confused and more or less
faded in and out of conciousness until the morning of 1-1-07 when I
became more alert and was able to grasp a little more of my
surroundings.   I ask where I was, and they told me the hospital.  They
said I had gotten sick and called 9-1-1.   They also told me I was in my
car.  Panic # 1 hit --- I panicked when they told me I had been in my
car and I ask them did I kill anyone?  The nurse said no, you were able
to get your car stopped and call for help---thank God!!!  I thought.  

Panic # 2 then hit.   How come I couldn't move anything on the left at
all and how come my vision was so blurry?  

Panic # 3 came when I ask where my clothes were and they said that they
had had to cut everything off of me and all I had left were my shoes!
Then they ask me if I wanted my clothes back----uhhhhh, no, i don't
think so!!!   lol!!!  

panic # 4 hit when I ask where my bag was that had my oxygen tank in it.
They said you didn't come in with any bag!   What???   Where is my
bag???  You didn come in with any bag!!!   My bag had not only my oxygen
tank in it, but also my wallet and my cell phone were missing.   (a
friend did go find my car and found the bag and the cell phone locked in
the car on the front seat!---thankfully no one had broken into the car
and stolen the stuff.)

They (the doctors and nurses) said they thought that I had had a stroke,
but they also were working on several differntiating diagnoses' of
seizure disorder (since apparently I had had a number of seizures both
in the ambulance and in the ER), a severe infection, and/or some type of
metabolic disorder.    

Well, I'm telling you, I think I have had just about every test under
the sun and then some.   They did tox screens, cbc's, ua's (which did
show a uti that I hadn't been aware of),ekg, eeg, tee (transesophageal
echocardiogram) chest x-ray, head ct, carotid artery ct, carotid artery
angiogram, spinal tap (boy am I glad I was unconcious through that!),
gave me several doses of narcan, in case I had overdosed on something,
etc, etc, etc.  Only things of real signifigance that they found was wbc
of 16, a uti, a mass on my thyroid gland, and multiple premature atrial
contractions on the ekg.  On 1-1-07, they did a 2nd ct with contrast of
the head and neck.  They did not find any significant lesions just one
questionable spot that they believe represents a small stroke caused by
what they believe to be me getting so dehydrated and the fact that my
blood pressure runs so low, that they feel that I got too dehydrated and
that plunged my blood pressure to a point of being so low that it didn't
allow enough blood flow to the brain, thus causing the stroke and the
paralysis.   I questioned this, as I had always thought that strokes
were caused by high blood pressure or high cholesterol.  ICU doctor
said, no, there are many causes of stroke and sometimes low blood
pressure can be just as dangerous as high blood pressure.  

Wow, didn't I feel stupid!!!    

So, after several days in the ccmu, was moved to what they call a step
down unit.  Spent a couple of days there until they felt I was stable
enough to be transferred to the acute care rehab unit in the hospital.  

Spent 21 days in the rehab unit doing PT, OT, speech therapy, and rec
therapy all twice a day.  The PT and OT was 6 days a week and the other
therapies were 5 days a week.  also had a visit with a psychiatrist to
make sure I wasn't depressed.   Apparently after a stroke up to 80% of
people get depressed. LOL......she (the psychiatrist) got to ask about
4-5 questions before I got bored with her questions and just piped up
and said let me tell you what I am like and what I am all about!
ROFL!!!   I think I caught her off gaurd a bit.   In the end, she said I
was not depressed and had a normal reaction to all that had taken place.
In fact, she said I think you not only have a normal reaction, but I
would say you have a very healthy and exceptional way of dealing with
things. The speech therapy was because I was having some memory issues
and cognitive issues which fall under the speech therapy umbrella (so,
if I don't make a lot of sense, at least I have an excuse now!!!  rofl).
Was an intense time with the schedule in rehab, but what is needed to
start getting back some function.  I arrived in the unit virtually
unable to even shift around in the bed by myself, and left with fairly
good movement back in my arm and hand, although still very weak and
still not able to lift the arm over my head, and able to be upright with
a walker.  I can walk, but it is very very slow going and my foot drags
something terrible.   The home PT is ordering me a brace for the foot as
well as a speical pair of shoes to accomadate the brace.   She said both
the brace  and the shoes should be fully covered by insurance.  We'll
see.

I am still covered with some huge bruises on my upper arms that everyone
thinks is from the paramedics trying to get me out of my car and onto a
back board as well as being a bit combative with them enroute to the
hospital.  (how embarassing!)

I am very lucky to have an excellent PT person coming into my home as
well as a very very good home health aide.  PT and OT will come in 3
times a week and the home health aide will come in twice a week.   A
social worker will come in once ever week or two.

Needless to say, there will be no driving for a while!

All in all, a heck of a way to end one year and ring in another year,
and yet I am so very blessed way beyond what I deserve by some
absolutely incredible friends, family, church family, and even the staff
at the rehab unit.   Made a couple of friends that I will keep in
contact with outside of the hospital and also got the rec therapists
interested in the knifty knitter rings.   They actually went out and
bought a couple of them and I showed them how to use them even one
handed.   Promised them that when I was doing better that I would come
back and teach several of them how to use them for knitting so that they
could show other patients.   One of the social workers and one of the
physician assistants ( a man no less) want to also learn, so will
probably make several trips back there to teach them al,l and give back
a little of what they gave to me!!!

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Still every bit as ornery
as usual---lol

Oh yeah, did I say how absolutely blessed I am!!!

Wow!!!

Thanks to each and every one of you for blessing me in so many ways with
your prayers, cards, phone calls, e-cards, gifts, visits, etc.

May each of you be every bit as blessed as I am!!!!

Love & hugs,

Donna G.
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ANGELS EXIST, but some times, since they don't all have wings, we call
them FRIENDS......