Trip to the ER

Wednesday night after a long day (zumba, lunch with friends, figure skating, wrestling, dinner, and bedtime) I really wasn't feeling so hot. And out of nowhere my eye site started getting very blurry. Later my whole right hand went numb. After about 10 or 15 minutes of trying to get circulation back in my hand half of my tongue went numb. I kept thinking "I wonder what's going to happen next", and "what if I pass out." The kids were asleep and Andy was at work.

I called my dad and told him I was fine but the right side of me was numb. He told me to go to the hospital immediately and it sounded like signs of a stroke. I reassured him that the feeling in my tongue was coming back and I think I would be fine but he insisted if it really was a minor stroke, another could follow.

I called our family doctor, who also happens to be in our ward. He was so gracious to take my call on his personal cell phone after hours. He calmly said it could be a number of things but agreed I needed to go in and get checked. So I headed to the dreaded Rock Springs ER!

My friend Johana was nice enough to run over and sit at my house with the kids. And the doctors wife Julie was so kind to come pick me up and take me to the ER.

I contacted Andy, and up until I called him I was calm and unafraid. But when I started telling him what was going on I lost it for a few short minutes.

At the ER they quickly got me in and the doctor checked for any signs of drooping or weakness on my right side, they took tons of blood tests. The numbness had gone by the time we got to the hospital so there wasn't a ton they could do. They thought about a CT scan to check for more blood clots in the brain but since the symptoms had passed and my blood pressure and all the blood work were normal they decided against exposing the baby to radiation that was unnecessary.

Andy was able to get a ride in from work and meet me at the hospital, it was nice to have him there. I got to go back home before to long and was so tired I zonked for the night. Apparently it wasn't as easy for Andy to sleep after I had just scared him into thinking I was dying.

It is true there is no way besides a brain scan to be able to tell if a stroke is coming and once my symptoms were gone there was no good way of really knowing what caused the numbing and blurriness.

Thursday I had a migraine all day long but once I got permission to take something a little stronger than Tylenol I started to feel better.

Today, Friday, I feel pretty well back to normal and hope that Wednesday nights craziness was a fluke one time thing and that my right hand will continue to work and that I won't be drooling out of the side of my mouth anytime soon.

And although I reassured my wonderful friends that I am fine and Andy is home they still insisted on bring meals over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I am very blessed with kind friends and loving family; and I hope to repay the kindness soon.