Boy what a crappy year this has been...

[doomsday]

Hi guys, long time no see. Just thought I would give an update.

Near the end of feb while I was out of town for work, I ended up having a stroke at the ripe old age of 45. Almost completely paralyzed my left side. I did not have any of the typical signs of a stroke, actually almost the opposite. My coworker and I had went out for supper after our meeting that afternoon. Right at the end of the meal I had about 10 seconds of dizziness and it went away.

After that, I went to grab my drink with my left hand and almost yanked it off the table. The glass felt almost weightless so it surprised me how easily I lifted it. When we got up to leave, my leg was also acting the same way, it felt much lighter than my other leg. We left and I even drove on to our hotel. After being in the hotel for an hour or so, it was getting very difficult to walk. You would have thought I was just drunk. anyhow, I grabbed my coworker and we headed to the emergency room where after some tests the determined I was having a stroke. Since it was still within the 3 hour window, they gave me "stroke" medicine to help unblock the clot (even though they couldnt see it on a scan).
I freaked out the doctor while they were giving me this medication as I was sitting there on my phone with my wife letting her know what was going on. After asking the doctor why I kept stairing at me he said,Sorry, I have never seen anyone be able to talk normally while being givin this medication.
Go figure, I do everything ass backwards lol.

Well, by the time the shipped me off to another hospital my arm and leg had become like rocks and I could barely move them by even an inch. After spending a week in the hospital I was shipped out to therapy where I spent a month. At least the food was decent. I think I ate twice the week I was in the hospital due to it being so horrible.

So here we are in november. I have some use of the leg and arm, actually a fair amount. still cant move my foot at the ankle but they said it could be a year or more for that to return. I have function of my hand however reaction time is super slow, so no scooting for me till I can get hand moving quicker in case of a needed emergency stop. I will ride again! I guess I was lucky in one way, I was going for my motorcycle learners permit that week when i got back. It would have really sucked to have gotten that and then not be able to ride the entire time. lol, I guess my procrastination did somewhat payoff.

I mainly wanted to share this story with you guys and gals to let you know that a stroke can present itself without the typical "signs" they say to look for. So make sure to add limb lightness to that list. If I had of known that, I could have went in sooner and possibly saved me some of the troubles my left side went through.

[spandi]

I'm very very sorry to hear this. (what a frighting experience it must have been) I can't imagine how devastating this must have been for you. I sincerely hope you make a full recovery and are back to scootin' SOON! And yes, it is a reminder to all of us to take NOTHING for granted. (I hope next year everything goes your way.)

[doomsday]

Thanks! One would think that it was frightening experience but oddly enough, scared never even came to mind.The only emotion I had was of sadness and not even for myself but for my wife. Our daughter has CP and while she may be 16, mentally she is around 2. She is wheelchair bound and needs constant supervision. This placed an even heavier burden on my wife as she was now going to have to do everything for our daughter and most everything for me as well. So other than that, I have not really had any emotions over the stroke. To me, shit happens and you just have to deal with it and move on.

Oddly enough, Doctors seem to think that attitude is odd lol. What am I supposed to do? feel sorry for myself? get angry and say why me? I went through all that with my daughter when we got her results at 6 months of age. I learned a long time ago, shit just happens and you deal with it and move on. Mind you, we took a class while in rehab on "dealing with having a stroke". They go through the gambit of why strokes happen, risk factors for having a stroke and so on. The conclusion of listening to that crap for a week was laughable. It all boiled down to, shit happens. risk factors mean nothing, a perfectly healthy person can have a stroke just as easily as an over weight, smoker with high blood pressure and diabetes. So the motto that I live by, is the same reasoning on why a stroke happens to one person and not another. If there was any need of validation, I guess that would have done it lol.

As for me and riding, I am able to get on and off the scooter with very little difficulty, I can bare the weight shifting it from side to side. Hold the handle bars fine, Its just how slowly my hand opens to grab the break that is of concern to me. If I didnt have to worry about emergency breaking, I think I could be riding right now but I figure its better to wait and see if I can improve that reaction time as all of us on two wheels knows, People dont pay attention on the roads! So I guess in a way, I can blame others for me not being able to ride lol.

I dont know if it was the damage to my brain from the stroke or just not being able to ride but when I look at scooters now, the retro scooters that I always thought were ugly are now just as appealing as the new sporty looks. Trikes was never a consideration for me either and now they look just as good as any two wheeler. It has given me a new appreciation on scooting, that is for sure.

[Houndguy]

My girlfriend had a stroke several years ago and like you, didn't have any signs of it. In fact we thought she was just sick with the flu and sent her to bed. About an hour later I went to check on her and we realized that something was seriously wrong. She could not stand and was incoherent.

We got her to the hospital ASAP and she is fine today (some 4 years later at least physically). People are often surprised to learn she had a stroke! I'm glad your better and know we will see you on the roads soon enough!

[inuyasha]

Hi
So very sorry to hear this
You have my best wishes and prayers for a swift and full recovery
Have mercy, O loving God,
upon all who have suffered a stroke.
Remove the sudden fear that befalls them.
Endow them with courage in the struggle
to recover what has been lost.
Grant them strength and hope
to envision new days ahead
and a spirit of faith
to take the risk of living fully
once again.
Amen.
Take care and ride safely my friend
Yours Hank

[teddy554]

I hope you have a speedy recover.

[Gimpdog]

may you be able to ride soon!!!

[spandi]

Originally Posted by doomsday

Thanks! One would think that it was frightening experience but oddly enough, scared never even came to mind.The only emotion I had was of sadness and not even for myself but for my wife. Our daughter has CP and while she may be 16, mentally she is around 2. She is wheelchair bound and needs constant supervision. This placed an even heavier burden on my wife as she was now going to have to do everything for our daughter and most everything for me as well. So other than that, I have not really had any emotions over the stroke. To me, shit happens and you just have to deal with it and move on.

Oddly enough, Doctors seem to think that attitude is odd lol. What am I supposed to do? feel sorry for myself? get angry and say why me? I went through all that with my daughter when we got her results at 6 months of age. I learned a long time ago, shit just happens and you deal with it and move on. Mind you, we took a class while in rehab on "dealing with having a stroke". They go through the gambit of why strokes happen, risk factors for having a stroke and so on. The conclusion of listening to that crap for a week was laughable. It all boiled down to, shit happens. risk factors mean nothing, a perfectly healthy person can have a stroke just as easily as an over weight, smoker with high blood pressure and diabetes. So the motto that I live by, is the same reasoning on why a stroke happens to one person and not another. If there was any need of validation, I guess that would have done it lol.

As for me and riding, I am able to get on and off the scooter with very little difficulty, I can bare the weight shifting it from side to side. Hold the handle bars fine, Its just how slowly my hand opens to grab the break that is of concern to me. If I didnt have to worry about emergency breaking, I think I could be riding right now but I figure its better to wait and see if I can improve that reaction time as all of us on two wheels knows, People dont pay attention on the roads! So I guess in a way, I can blame others for me not being able to ride lol.

I dont know if it was the damage to my brain from the stroke or just not being able to ride but when I look at scooters now, the retro scooters that I always thought were ugly are now just as appealing as the new sporty looks. Trikes was never a consideration for me either and now they look just as good as any two wheeler. It has given me a new appreciation on scooting, that is for sure.

Well then let us hope your braking ability (along with everything else) makes a full and rapid recovery, while keeping your new found (all-encompassing) scooter appreciation outlook!

[doomsday]

Thanks for all the kind words! I know I will scoot again but it could be 1-4 or possibly more, years to fully recover from it (if you are able to get a full recovery). I am on month 9 now and compared to the start, it is tons better but its still got a long way to go. I am able to walk (if you want to call it that lol) without a cane now for short distances, a few hundred feet or so but if you were behind me, you might think a turtle moves faster lol. You just dont realize how much actual movement there is in a foot as you are taking a step. It reminds me of a baby trying to learn how to walk. Lets just hope a zombie apocalypse doesnt happen any time soon, I would certainly be one of the first taken out lol.