TIA#3 was experienced 1/11/05.

It had snowed the night before and I went out about 7:00am to clear the snow off the car. I was winded after this. This was not normal. After all, all I had done was clear the snow off of the car. I had not shoveled the entire drive and walk.

I came in, called my supervisor to tell him I was going to be late, and sat down and relaxed for about 30 minutes before I started driving to work. By the time I started to work, I felt better than I did before.

It is about a 15 mile drive from home to work for me. As I got about half way to work, I started to get dizzy. The closer to work I got, it seemed the dizzier I got.

By the grace of God, I was able to work. I also realized I was having another TIA. I went into a co workers cubicle. He asked me if I was alright. I said that I was not all right. I asked him to call my supervisor. They also called the plant nurse. The symptoms I experienced were localized to my face and arm. I experienced numbness in the left side of my face and left arm. My left leg was not affected. I was very dizzy and could not walk without assistance. I stuck out my tongue for my coworker and he told me it pulled to the left (side that was numb).

The plant nurse came and started taking vital signs. My supervisor showed up. He really looked scared. I need to back up a bit here. The plant nurse and I had met on several occasions. She knew I had had TIAs in the past. She was talking to her coworkers inside the "fence" (the nickname we have for the Protected Area at a Nuclear Power Plant) and was saying that "He keeps having these mini strokes and they keep sending him back to work."

The plant nurse gave me a choice because I was in stable condition. Either I could wait for an ambulance (this would take 30 minutes because of the extreme security we have to keep the "bad" guys out) or someone else was going to drive me to the emergency room. My supervisor volunteered to drive me to the Emergency Room but said "He was concerned that he would be unable to handle things if something bad (real stroke were to occur). The plant nurse called her on site supervisor and got permission to leave the property to accompany us to the ER. I called my wife and told her I was having another one and to meet us in the Emergency Room.

The roads were still really crappy. I told my supervisor that if he got stuck in the snow, it would be reflected in his annual Employee Appraisal. He laughed at that and it seemed to calm things some. The plant nurse had a bad case of being a back seat driver. That did nothing but increase the tension of the moment. To make a long story short, we made it to the Emergency Room safely at about 9:00am.

They take me back and check me over. They took blood pressure, temp, and pulse. Interesting, all of these items were normal. Let me repeat this, my blood pressure was normal and I still had a TIA. They did bloodwork. They ordered a CT Scan. The CT Scan did not show anything. The ER physician spoke with my neuro who suggested that I get an injection of Lovenox to thin my blood quickly. The symptoms for this TIA lasted about 5 - 6 hours.

I went home after that. I called my supervisor to let him know I was out and home. I was told I was not to come back to work until I had seen my neurologist and had written documentation allowing me to return to work.

Subsequently, on Friday of that week, I get a call at home from my supervisor. He tells me that I need to contact someone in our company's Disability Management office after my neuro appointment the following Tuesday.

After my neuro appointment where he tells me I don't need to climb and I don't need to work alone, I call the number my supervisor gave me for Disability Management. I get a recorded message telling me to leave name, number, etc. and I will be in touch within 48 hours.

48 hours!!!!!!!!!!!! They have to be kidding right. I called my supervisor and relayed this information. He said he had gotten the same information and he wasn't happy about it either.

That is enough for today.

We have almost caught up with ourselves.

Life is wonderful that way.

Charles Ramsey