Today I hurt pretty bad. My nerve pain is giving me a lot of grief. But I believe I have to keep on going. I want so bad to just lay down and give up. But I think the reason I have recovered as good as I have is that I just go. I tried to walk without my cane to early and my Neuro was very demanding that I use it. I figured I would get better faster if I "had" to walk on my own without the cane. I was not thinking it was not safe for me. A fall would not be good on the thinners. I dont have to use the cane now.

I just read Minnie's Blog about her court case. Sorry to read what happened to her. I am about to enter the frey myself. If you have read some of what I have I have writen, I have talked about my situation a little.

My stroke "started" over a year before it happened. I had a small bump in my left neck that hurt. I went to my family doctor and had him check it. I told him I thought it was my artery, because I could feel my pulse in the bump. He sent me to get an ultrasound done, with the referral saying to check "swollen Carotid artery".

I went and had it done. I had to call my doctor because he did not call me. I was told that there was nothing wrong, nothing to worry about. My doctor did nothing more, so I went on with life. The pain went away.

Almost a year later, it bothers me again. This time I can see that there is some swelling inside my neck. I remember that there was nothing wrong with my artery, so I assume that I must be suffering the fate of some of my mothers family, throat cancer. I again go to my doctor. I tell him I still think it is my artery, or is it cancer? He does not know what it is and sends me more test. I get another ultrasound, and a Ct scan. I go to two ENT's. I am again told it is nothing. Again it is dropped without finding out what I am complaining about.

Again I go on with life. Again the pain goes away. Then on Oct. 5, 2006, I go into the hospital for a routine procedure to expand my esophagus. At about 12:30 p.m. on the 6th I go in for the procedure. I stroke during the procedure. No one catches it. I awake in recovery and at once say something is wrong. I am ignored. I am sent back to my room, where I can not move to get myself from the gurney into bed. This does not alarm the nurse in charge, four people just pick me up and put me in bed. My wife instantly starts asking if I stroked. She is told no, I must have slept wrong, or the anethesia is affecting me. My wife stays for hours trying to get me to move and bugging the nurse, until she is told to go home and let me rest. I am in and out during this period. I felt sick, with a pounding headache.

At 10:30 a.m. on the 7th a doctor comes in to release me to go home. I tell him I cant move my right side, I have a pounding headache, and my heart is racing. He finally has me do what should have been done when I awoke after the procedure, move my fingers and toes. He instantly says that he thinks I stroked.

You would think that the ball is finally moving now, but no, everything stops again. Finally at about 1:00 p.m. a Neuro comes in to see me. He also says that he thinks I stroked. Again it stops cold. At about 3:00 p.m. I finally am given a baby aspirin. That is it, that was my treatment. On the 8th I am finally given an MRI which showed I still had a 2 cm. blood clot deep brain. Nothing is done. At night I am given a Plavix.

(I now know that anesthesia does not paralyze you. And that Plavix and aspirin do not dissolve clots.)

I am sent home on the 10th with no PT, and no reason for why I stroked. I am told to take Plavix and not to go to work for about a month. I was almost shoved out the door with the words, "Remember, we took good care of you".

I stroked at home on the 17th. This time I go to Toledo hospital. They took me serious at once. The Neuro there could not believe that I was sent home without finding out why I stroked. He orderd test at once. They found the cause of my strokes. That darn bump in my neck was a huge aneurism, the size of a ping pong ball. I had what is called an Ectasia. This is where the whole artery swells like a garden hose. This allowed the blood to slow and clot. I had a vein taken from my leg and it was used to replace my left carotid artery. They also see that I am getting the same thing in my right Carotid artery.

Now how do they see what all the others did not? This is what the Lawyer is hopefully going to find out.

Basically the blame for my strokes lies with the people that missed the aneurism when I first complained, they are responsible for my strokes. What the hospital did is next.

I am where I need to come up with the cash to hire an expert to read the radiology reports. If he see's the aneurism, the lawsuit is on. Then we'll go after the hospital.

I feel I have a tight case, but you never know.