Talking About TIA

It Only Took Three Days for My Big Stroke to Hit
I never imagined that a few headaches could lead to a life-changing event, but it did in August 2007. I never really suffered from headaches, but suddenly I started getting them every day. Then it progressed to the point where my headaches started affecting my vision. When I began experiencing numbing sensations on my left side, my family took me to the local hospital to get checked out. The ER doctors suggested I have an ultrasound to see if there was any blockage in the arteries bringing blood to my brain, but the hospital didn't have the right equipment so the staff sent me home.

The next day, I sat outside to read the paper while my family was running errands. Suddenly, I noticed that I could no longer feel the paper in my right hand and the right side of my mouth was completely numb. Thankfully, I had the cordless phone outside with me and I managed to call 9-1-1. My speech was garbled when I tried to explain what was happening to the operator, but I heard her say she was sending an ambulance.

My symptoms subsided by the time the ambulance arrived, but I went to the hospital just in case. I think one of the doctors suggested I had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), but this was the only time I remember TIA being mentioned. The staff decided to keep me overnight for observation even though they weren't sure what was wrong. The next day the doctor reduced my diagnosis to panic attacks but recommended I see a neurologist. I was discharged from the hospital and booked an appointment with a neurologist for later that afternoon, but a few hours after returning home from the hospital my speech became slurred again. We went to the neurologist's office right away and my husband insisted that he see me. The neurologist immediately recognized my symptoms and told me I'd had a TIA. Within a few minutes we were in the car again, rushing to a hospital for the third time in three days — except this time we went to a bigger hospital that was better equipped to treat strokes.^†

That night, my new doctors started conducting tests with the expectation that full results would be available in the morning — but I never got my results. The next morning hospital staff found me lying on the floor unconscious. Tests revealed that I had 80-90 percent blockage in the left carotid artery and 100 percent blockage in the right. My husband was informed that I had suffered a major stroke and that I could be dead in 24 hours. I was rushed into surgery and implanted with a stent in my left carotid artery to help blood flow freely to my brain.

Read more >>

^†If you or a loved one experiences TIA or stroke symptoms, do not drive yourself or a loved one to the hospital — call 911 immediately and wait for an ambulance.