Talking About TIA

Panic Behind the Wheel — My Experience with TIA

Experiencing sudden vision problems is bad enough, but having them while driving down a busy highway is many people's worst nightmare. It became a reality for me one morning in late December 2007, and my entire life changed in the blink of an eye.

I had been looking forward to the day after Christmas for months — my son and his wife were coming into town and I was planning a big family dinner at my house. I couldn't wait to get work out of the way so I could get home and prepare for company.

My usual route to work was down a busy four-lane highway, but as I drove that morning my vision started getting very strange — it was blurry and everything seemed to slant to the right. I couldn't even see well enough to pull off the road, so I continued to drive along slowly. It took every ounce of strength I had not to lose control. I managed to maneuver my car into a parking lot. I was too disoriented to get my cell phone from my pants pocket so I called out for help; luckily an off-duty fireman saw me and dialed 911.

By the time I was admitted to the hospital my symptoms subsided, but I spent the night there and canceled my family dinner. One of the ER doctors said he suspected I had a TIA — I didn't know what that was — but my wife, an occupational therapist at a rehabilitation center, was familiar with TIA and agreed.

After learning what TIA was, I realized a few previous incidents where my eyesight got blurry and I felt confused may have been warning signs. These episodes lasted only a few minutes so I never thought it was anything serious. Looking back, I realize I should have mentioned the problem to my doctor.

Now I make sure to stay on top of my health — I go to the doctor for checkups regularly, pay attention to my diet and make sure to exercise. I want people to know that even if they experience even slight symptoms like I did, it's so important to get it checked out by a doctor.

Charlie H.
Naperville, Illinois