Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to ‘fill you in’ on my life for the past few weeks…
As many of you know, I appear to be healthy as a horse and since I am a petite and very energetic person, I am probably the last person that you would think could have a mini stroke. Year after year, my doctor’s chart remains unfilled and boring so you can imagine my surprise when this occurred. Nonetheless, it did and I offer this story in hopes that many of you can benefit from my experience.
Warning signs: severe headache, slurred speech, blindness in one or both eyes, numbness, a feeling of being disoriented.
So, I was at work making a copy and said to my General Manager, “I just lost my vision in the bottom half of my right eye. I have so much work to do, please keep an eye on me and I am going to go back to my work station.” I felt better within about 10 minutes and then it returned. Shortly thereafter, one of my employees asked me a question and I clearly thought of the answer but when I went to speak it, the words came out all slurry. The employee became concerned. I tried again and the same thing happened. She reacted so quickly because she recognized the signs (ex pharmacy school student!) of a stroke. Within minutes, my employees had me in the car and on the way to the hospital. I later learned that had I not gone so quickly, this could have been fatal.
Once at the hospital, it was determined that this was a TIA “mini stroke”. Mine was caused by a spike in blood pressure which apparently happens quite often with me. My blood pressure is normally very low, however, when I become stressed, my blood pressure spikes pretty high.
As it turns out, I have had great support from family, friend, clients and the medical community. I am working hard to find ways to de-stress. In my opinion, this was a billboard, not a sign, so I am paying attention. This has become a pretty major journey and I am learning new things every day. A life coach, yoga, regular exercise program, set business hours, learning to delegate and let go have all been a huge part of this journey.
The support from everyone has been tremendous and I feel special and loved.
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