Father's Day Surprise

The subject of this post, may sound different than it actually is. The surprise I got had nothing to do with Father's Day, just that it happened on that day.

On the Saturday before Father's Day we drove to my daughter's house in Athens. The plan was to work some in her Attic to prepare for putting some plywood there as a flooring for storage of several boxes of her memorabilia that is currently stored in our basement. Patrick, our oldest, planned to join us and help. The weekend weather was extremely hot and as it happened, the AC went out at her house. With the heat as it was, we decided to avoid the attic completely.

Sunday afternoon, my wife decided that I was acting less normal than usual (later she has said that it started on Saturday). Of the things that she has noted was that I was not doing the things I normally did as we prepared to leave, but also was doing what she told me to without any argument. The gist of it all was that she decided I needed to see a doctor. The choices was the ER in Athens, in Gaines ville, or in Blairsville. She talked with my younger sister, who is an ER nurse in Gainesville and we ended up at the ER in Gaines ville.

They took blood and gave me several types of tests. Then I was taken to have a CT Scan. Surprise to me and to them, the CT showed that I had experienced a stroke. Later I had an MRI, which confirmed that diagnosis and gave more information concerning what had happened. I then spent two nights in the hospital as they continued to check me, give me fluids, and tried to make sure I was continuing to do well.

Later, my sister got a copy of the results of the MRI. It was an eye opener to me and proof that God is watching over me. As the doctor told her, I took a pretty good hit. The good news was that it was the best kind of stroke to have, if you have one at all. The other good news was that it did not affect me at all physically or in my speech or any of the other classic signals of stroke. The bottom line is that it hit in the cognitive areas of my brain.

Last week I went to see a neurologist. He sent me to have a post stroke assessment at the rehabilitation center. I told David that I must be a real musician now that I have been sent to rehab. The assessment went very well and I am going back for another session on Friday afternoon.

There are some things I have learned since this happened. I don't like being sick, I don't like people treating me as if I am sick. I understand my dad's frustration with having everyone you see asking how you are doing. I appreciate knowing they are concerned, but I feel fine and don't notice any difference. It is also very strange to admit that, yes, I had a stroke. That is something you think of happening to older people and something that is very serious and even life threatening. But it happened to me. Yes it is serious and it concerns me. I am now on blood pressure medicine, blood thinner, and cholesterol medicine, even though my cholesterol was in good shape when they checked it. However, the neurologist said that since I have had a stroke they would want my cholesterol to be even lower than they would normally want it to be.

The key now, I guess, is to take care of myself without becoming too pessimistic or scared of what might or might not happen. I want to live while I am living. I hope the next Father's Day surprise I have has more to do with my children and them getting me outdoors for a hike, a canoe trip, a camping trip, or some other activity that I love.

Nelson