jslivon Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 So I'm completely new to this so I'm hoping I'm doing this correctly. Anyways, I'm a 28 year old, thought to be healthy male, who's New Year has been far from happy. Two hours after the clock struck midnight on New Year's, I would find myself in the emergency room with what they thought was a 'stomach virus'. By the way I had not a drop of alcohol in my system. All I remember was I became extremely nauseous, made it to the bathroom which at that time my head became tingly, hot and I completely blacked/passed out smashing my head on the wall. My wife heard this and called 911. Hours later I was released from the hospital with no scan of my head and was told to drink lots of fluids but by that time had felt fine. Possible TIA? We'll never know but little did I know what was in store for me. January 3rd, my wife, two year old son and I were heading to Port Canaveral Florida as we had been planning a cruise to get away for awhile as the past year was pretty rough. I'm a prison guard in Wisconsin and sustained a fairly severe leg injury requiring surgery back in September. Anyways, we decided to spend the night in Atlanta Georgia seeing as though we decided to drive and were exhausted. The next morning, I woke out of bed, began cleaning up so that we could continue our trip and about five minutes later I lost my balance, fell over and it just became crazy from there. I remember EMT's in the ambulance asking me why I couldn't move my left arm or leg, etc which scared me to death because I had no clue what was going on. Little did I know that I was completely paralyzed on the left side of my body due to a blood clot that had made it's way to the right side of my brain. TPA was given and I spent approximately 5 days in the hospital including a day in ICU. My sister flew into Georgia immediately to assist my wife with everything, mainly our 2 year old seeing as though we were 1,000 miles away from home and knew nothing or no one. I just laid in the hospital wondering how or why, absolutely no risk factors at all. Wondering where do I go from here, I still have a life to live. By the time I departed the hospital, I was able to walk out on my own, AMEN! My sensation, awareness, etc just seemed shot. This was all new to me, a huge blur...Although our cruise set sail without us, I wanted to make the best of things and my family being huge 'The Walking Dead' fans we made our way around the area seeing where they film, etc. Now, the trip home which consisted of my mind nonstop racing. Was back home in 2 days which is where the never ending appointments began and continue. I'll fast forward a month just so I can make this quicker. I've seen a hematologist, everything seems fine there, a cardiologist who has since implanted a loop recorder in my chest to monitor every beat my heart makes. I've also had an electrophysiology study conducted that came back normal. Next week I have a TEE scheduled to see if there could be a hole in my heart. I meet again with the neurologist next week who has since stripped me of my driving privileages which is driving me even more crazy than I'm already going. Here's the kicker, I've had another stroke since January 4th and before February 1st when they redid an MRI/MRA and found a new area of brain damage referring to it as a silent stroke. After they found the new damage, immediately put me on Warfarin. Now, it's just a waiting game and the mental aspect of it is killing me more than the physical. They have no answers and I'm scared of what could happen in the mean time. I constantly have headaches which I've never had before, my memory and word usage seems like it's constantly on the decline and I'm just going crazy sitting at home wondering and waiting. Thankfully I have my 2 year old to keep me on my toes, even though that's a challenge in itself at times. I'm just looking for advice, similar situations, anything really...Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethyl17 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Jay: welcome. You have come to the right place for advice and just to vent, let those feelings go. With a two year old on board, very difficult for you to manage what you are feeling and not scaring the baby. Daddy is just not Daddy right now, but all is OK. I want you to keep in mind that swelling in the brain - and that is caused by any stroke or brain injury - can take up to six months to resolve. You have to give yourself that time. There will be many changes in the next few months. For now it is healthy diet, medications, exercise and most importantly, rest. The brain heals best with sleep. So you hunker down with the little guy. Take him for walks, good lunch and then nap for both of you. You have all the pros on board and yes, the endless appointments are tiring. This may be caused from the injury in September - the body healing that injury and then tossing clots, but you are ruling out all the possible causes and that is a positive. We had a 30 year old family friend who recently stroked during childbirth - her second child - and after exhaustive tests finally found a genetic defect. Regardless, patience and stick to your meds. Rest when your body tells you to: that means down time - no TV, no reading. Let the little guy run and just see to his safety. You get your feet up and take a time out. Please do come often. There are many young stroke families here and they will chime in and offer help. Again, welcome. Debbie, caregiver to Bruce, stroke March 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Welcome jslivon, You will find many friends on this site who are very helpful. Coming here has been a big part in my recovery. I hope your headache begins to fade and your memory gets better. My headaches lasted for what seemed like months after I stroked. My memory has stabilized, I lost many memories, but I'm making new ones every day. Give it some time. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fking Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hey, for now I'm calling you Livon, So welcome to the site and your whole case sounds like a whirl win tour to stroke territory for sure. I hope you get good news soon so at least you know what you are facing. I feel the shot you got was a life stroke saver in that you could walk afterwards and not feel too much of what strokes can do to the body and the brain. You stand a great chance to recover but finding out what's causing all of this is now the key to your recovery. I wish you the best my man! For me it was a full blown brain bleed stroke while home alone so I'm blessed to have survived at all. It did cause me to spend 5 months in the hospital and now it's been 9 years of recovery. I use a scooter, a cane and I drive my car but I'm not out the woods just yet at almost 72 years young. I sorta figured your first name is James, am I close?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancyl Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Headaches are a common thing after stroke, not for forever but for a couple months.... Now question is it at all possible the leg injury/ surgery are related to the stroke......... There is certainly correlations between surgeries and stroke even ones that are a few to several months apart..especially in a blood rich and tissue rich area like the leg... Make sure the docs are well aware of the surgery... Get the records together make sure they have them.... And as ethyl said 6 months post stroke lots of swelling still around.... Lots of confusion, and pay attention to how much sleep you are getting..... That alone is HUGE to stroke recovery... Not enough sleep you turn into a whole other person..... I am a caregiver to my husband also no stroke risks... Except a trip on the rug, caused a dissection to his carotid artery which clotted the clot moved and bingo a stroke..... Now could the fact you smashed your head into a wall a few nights prior be related... Also worth mentioning to doc.... And do be seeing a qualified neurologist , only.... This is not something for a GP at this point in the game.... Take care of yourself , this time is crucial... Sleep, rest.... You have a high stress job ( I worked corrections at a USM / local jail holding site for 20 yrs) so I know.... You need to be at the top of your game, the inmates will and do notice if you are off , maybe a request to a low security area would be warranted ???? Don't focus to much on the ebbing and flowing of cognition... I really think that is related to swelling and lack of sleep ( little kids) .....take care ..come often ...we are here..nancyl. Aka upside down nancy.. Just like my world!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancyl Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Oh and look out for depression .... That has been the single biggest problem for my husband and consequentially me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jslivon Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Thank you all so much for your thoughts, wisdom, advice and some of your stories, It is greatly appreciated, it's taken a lot to find the will to begin opening up about all of this. I've mainly kept it bottled up but every so often I'll vent and break down to my wife. I'm thankful to have an awesome support system. My mom and sister take turns spending time or watching over me seeing as though my wife is a full time nursing student along with working full time. Fred, you were pretty close, it's Josh and thank you for sharing some of your story with me and I wish you the best. I don't know if/when I would even return to my job. I was still out recovering from leg surgery so this has definitely thrown a curve ball into the mix. From their view, if your not fit to be around inmates then your not fit for duty. With that being said, I'm just enjoying my time at home with friends and family, focusing on recovering and getting to see our little man grow up every day. I'm just praying for answers, I don't want this to be a mystery because I'm afraid that I would spend my life walking on eggshells, wondering if it will strike again. I mean I'm up for any procedure, surgery or anything that will allow me to put this behind me. Well again, thank you all so much and I'm grateful I came here and am excited to continue this journey with all of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jslivon Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I definitely know what you mean about depression and I certainly have my moments. I think not being able to drive, just getting up and taking my little guy somewhere is really taking a toll. I'm constantly depending on everyone else to drive me to all my appointments, stores, etc and going from being completely independent to this isn't fairing too well. A person can only sit around limited before you begin going stir crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TahoeGirl Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hi- I can totally relate, the worst part is NOT having answers, as is the same with me. My doctor just says to give it time (I had a stroke on 1/3/13). I am 40 and have 3 daughters, youngest one is 3. I know it is difficult but find it a true blessing you have your 2 yr old to focus on to keep you distracted. Distraction, keeping busy, and this website have been the best methods for me. I find the more I sit and think about it the more anxiety I get. Am I feeling light headed, dizzy, you can completely work yourself up over it. I too have been suffering for headaches since the stroke and just yesterday was so happy as it had been almost a few weeks since last headache. Then last night woke up with a crushing one and can't seem to shake it. Good to know people have commented that they are common after a stroke. Why don't the doctors tell you that? I came to this website after by bff told me I needed to talk to someone about what I was going through. I bet your little guy is thrilled you are around. Keep positive, keep posting and reading, keep distracted, and rest when you can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fking Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Thanks Josh, I know some replies to your post had you as Jay. I been here so dog gone long I just like to call members by their names because I get confused and forget enough as it is. Glad you are getting to be with your little one and I bet he welcomes your time now with him. I guess you'll have to wait a bit longer to see how going back to your job works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdube Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hello Jay, welcome to the site. I am glad you found us so fast. Here, you will get support, encouragement and information. I was 30 years old when Ihad mine and I had a 3 year old and a 6 year old. The stroke permitted me to teach valuable life lessons to my sons like "When you want something bad enough, you find a way to achieve it.″ This lesson happened one day my son needed help pulling up his coat zipper. With my good hand and him holding his coat, I was able to pull up his zipper. Team work. I wish you all the best and for now, here are some links to good information. mc A survivor's Bill of Rights http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=2094 The Five Stages of Grief http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=857 A Letter From Your Brain http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=83 Classic Postings and Advice http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showforum=23 misc. info http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/stroke/stroke_recovery.html Caregivers’ Bill of Rights http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=781 Caregivers’ handbook http://www.strokecar...rg/handbook.htm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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