Hello everyone,
I have come to know this community very well since the heat of the primaries back in '08. I have mostly lurked and read many stories and commented only when I felt it appropriate to do so. I think it is time to tell everyone something very important.
More below...
It can happen to anyone!
My wife and our little girl of three years were out trick-or-treating(our community's businesses usually hand out candy to the youngsters the night before Halloween) when all of a sudden, things didn't feel right. A little history first: she is 26 years old, active, eats healthy and exercises and is in the Renewable Energy program at Illinois State University. Today was going along like any other day until she walked in the door tonight. On their way home from trick-or-treating, she began to feel tingly sensations in her hands, particularly her left hand, and a throbbing sensation in the right side of her head. She had turned to say something to our daughter when she realized that her words weren't coming out right. When she walked in the door, I knew something was wrong immediately. She was shaky, speech was slurred and was not walking properly and just wanted to go lay down.
I immediately (after a couple minutes of questions) got us in the car and headed to the ER. To make a long story short, her scans revealed blood clot in the right side of her brain and a small part where there was bleeding. Even the smallest area of bleeding in the brain is considered a stroke. Her speech is still slurred and she still cannot lift her left arm. She cannot drink any fluids without some help, but she is as coherent as you and I. It is absolutely heartbreaking.
I guess my message to all of you is multi-faceted. First, given today's events, this can happen to any one of us! I will say that again: it can happen to any one of us. The last thing my wife said to me when I left this morning was "I miss you". I said,"I miss you too and I love you". We don't see much of each other since both of us are constantly on the go. That was the last time I spoke with her in person before the stroke. To all of you who have a special someone and to even those who don't; cherish the moments you have with the people who matter most in your lives. You never know when you won't have those moments anymore.
Second, as all of us are aware, there is a dire need for reform of the healthcare system in this country. Fortunately, I have health insurance through my employer, but that really adds up to $1500 deductible before the benefits kick in and then there is only so much in benefits available. That just isn't right. It is just like our President Obama said, "No one should go broke in America because of medical bills." (or something to that tune) I don't think I'm going to go broke, but we'll find out soon enough just how good this insurance is. I want everyone's voices on the phones to your representatives this coming week. I know we've been calling and calling, but we need to keep calling and calling and calling and calling until they finally get it! My feeling is that if anyone has a medical problem like I have had tonight, he or she doesn't need to be up all hours of the night worrying about whether there will be enough benefits to get through this. Just worrying about ever getting my wife back to 100% is enough to think about, not to mention if I ever had a health issue.
So in closing, I would just like to tell everyone to go and say "I love you" to your loved ones. Let them know how much they are appreciated. You never know when your life as you know it will suddenly stop and everything changes.
Update: She is doing better this morning. She can raise her left arm over her head and wiggle her fingers, something she couldn't do last night. Thank you everyone for your support! We will get through this.
Update 2: I will be in and out most of the day as we are going thru many tests, scans, MRI's, etc... Thank you everyone for all the good thoughts and kind words and a special thanks for my first trip to the reclist. It is unfortunate that it took these circumstances to make it there, but that is really immaterial at the moment. The important thing is that she is stable and slowly improving.