Tuesday, August 23, 2005
JUNE....1996
The first week of June was the last normal week I would have for a long time. Bear woke me at 1:30 in the morning on June 7th with his throat and jaw twitching. He went to the kitchen for a drink of water and became alarmed when it ran out of his mouth. He had Bell’s Palsy twice before but this time it was strangely different. He tried to talk but couldn’t control his words so he wrote a note and told me he was afraid it was a stroke. His handwriting was shaky and I could hardly read it.
Our mothers and other family members had had strokes and our worst fear was that someday we would experience the same fate. I called Becky and then called 911. They came quickly and put him in the ambulance; I came back in the house and got dressed to follow as quickly as I could. I told Becky to call Ron and tell him I wouldn’t be at work that day and why…….she took care of that for me.
When I went in to see Bear, his left eye, cheek, jaw and neck were contracting worse. He was becoming more stressed and they admitted him in ICU and took him for an immediate CAT scan. When back in his room, a neurologist was assigned to him…..a female doctor who seemed very capable. She was an Army brat so Bear had instant connection with her. She said the X-ray showed a clot in a major vessel in the brain……she wanted another taken for comparison and also heart, lung and carotid artery….they later showed no sign of damage.
She determined the clot missed the motor area of the brain and his speech returned rather quickly, no memory problems, no paralysis, no nothing. He seemed to be fully recovered so I went home at 6:30 that evening. I had been tied up in knots all day and hadn’t eaten much so I came home to take care of the kitties and get some food and rest. Bear had a long hard day too so I figured he was in need of rest as well. I called family members when I got home and fell into bed.
The next day was Saturday so Becky and I went down early to see how he made it through the night. He had rested well and was talkative…..he had visitors and was in good spirits…..this continued until the third day. He seemed more tired then and around 11:30am he said he felt funny in his throat and cheek….three fingers on his left hand were also experiencing a strange feeling. In a few minutes it passed and his speech became better again.
This continued several more times and they released him on the fifth day. We were both pretty much feeling that nothing had been fixed but they said he had a stroke and was lucky it didn’t do damage. On the 18th of the month while I was at work, Bear had another “spell” while eating his lunch. Throat spasms, numb tongue and lips….couldn’t talk. It lasted about 10-minutes and then went away. Because we both felt something was more wrong that they thought at the small hospital at West Plains, we drove to Leonard Wood the next day and the medics sent him for an MRI test in Springfield. From Fort Leonard Wood to Springfield is quite a drive after the 80-mile trip in the morning from home to “Wood”………by the time I drove another 80-miles home after the MRI we were both tired.
Life went on….and the month ended. We were anxious to see what the MRI would show….we somehow didn’t think we were on the right track with the stroke diagnosis but Bear continued to take the medication. I didn’t talk to him about my fears but I was afraid something was terribly wrong. We waited for the other shoe to fall……………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Our mothers and other family members had had strokes and our worst fear was that someday we would experience the same fate. I called Becky and then called 911. They came quickly and put him in the ambulance; I came back in the house and got dressed to follow as quickly as I could. I told Becky to call Ron and tell him I wouldn’t be at work that day and why…….she took care of that for me.
When I went in to see Bear, his left eye, cheek, jaw and neck were contracting worse. He was becoming more stressed and they admitted him in ICU and took him for an immediate CAT scan. When back in his room, a neurologist was assigned to him…..a female doctor who seemed very capable. She was an Army brat so Bear had instant connection with her. She said the X-ray showed a clot in a major vessel in the brain……she wanted another taken for comparison and also heart, lung and carotid artery….they later showed no sign of damage.
She determined the clot missed the motor area of the brain and his speech returned rather quickly, no memory problems, no paralysis, no nothing. He seemed to be fully recovered so I went home at 6:30 that evening. I had been tied up in knots all day and hadn’t eaten much so I came home to take care of the kitties and get some food and rest. Bear had a long hard day too so I figured he was in need of rest as well. I called family members when I got home and fell into bed.
The next day was Saturday so Becky and I went down early to see how he made it through the night. He had rested well and was talkative…..he had visitors and was in good spirits…..this continued until the third day. He seemed more tired then and around 11:30am he said he felt funny in his throat and cheek….three fingers on his left hand were also experiencing a strange feeling. In a few minutes it passed and his speech became better again.
This continued several more times and they released him on the fifth day. We were both pretty much feeling that nothing had been fixed but they said he had a stroke and was lucky it didn’t do damage. On the 18th of the month while I was at work, Bear had another “spell” while eating his lunch. Throat spasms, numb tongue and lips….couldn’t talk. It lasted about 10-minutes and then went away. Because we both felt something was more wrong that they thought at the small hospital at West Plains, we drove to Leonard Wood the next day and the medics sent him for an MRI test in Springfield. From Fort Leonard Wood to Springfield is quite a drive after the 80-mile trip in the morning from home to “Wood”………by the time I drove another 80-miles home after the MRI we were both tired.
Life went on….and the month ended. We were anxious to see what the MRI would show….we somehow didn’t think we were on the right track with the stroke diagnosis but Bear continued to take the medication. I didn’t talk to him about my fears but I was afraid something was terribly wrong. We waited for the other shoe to fall……………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
