(composed January 21, 2015)
I don't often share my story of stroke survival with the world. Friends and family know this about me and at times it comes up in conversation, but this is not something I generally share freely. Perhaps it's pride or embarrassment, perhaps it's feeling like others have treated me differently when they know that I’ve had a stroke, that things are "dumbed down", or of course because it’s personal. We certainly have the right to share, or not.
I've known for awhile that I need to be more open with my story and help raise awareness. And today, January 20, 2015, I had the opportunity to share my story on The Dr. Oz Show.
(https://youtu.be/jyFbuKJzY-Q , horrible quality because I recorded this from my phone.
And part 2: https://youtu.be/fZ3Tk6c0tRE)
Strokes are happening more and more in young women. They are not just for older folks or people who are overweight or smokers or those who have high blood pressure or are migraine sufferers. Young women can have a stroke, but because symptoms can be less common and more easily missed, one in five of those women will not survive. I’m one of the lucky ones.
I had no family history of strokes, blood clots, heart issues...none.
Yet, I had a stroke on May 25, 2008.
The morning of May 24, 2008 I woke up to get ready for work and was feeling nauseous and light headed. I felt like I was going to throw up and went over to the toilet, but nothing. So I went on with my morning and left for work. I was feeling tired and a little ‘out of it’ but I didn’t think anything of it. I taught an improv workshop with a colleague that morning and afterwards went to a friend’s home for lunch.While there, I was still feeling tired and decided I should go home and rest.
On my way home, I remember having a little bit of trouble with a couple of the subway stairs, stumbling over some of them. But again, I was just tired.
I immediately laid down when I got home and took a long nap. (Little did I know this was the worst thing I could do as the brain needs to stay active to take action and get immediate help.) When I woke up I still didn’t feel well and thought that perhaps I had the flu so I decided to take it easy the rest of the evening.
On the morning of May 25 nothing had improved. I didn’t feel great and decided to cancel my plans for the day. Because of the symptoms I thought that I certainly had the flu or was pregnant. After all I was nauseous, tired, really thirsty…all similar signs for pregnancy. I took a pregnancy test, it was negative. So I treated myself as if I had the flu. I laid on the couch, loaded myself with fluids, and enjoyed an afternoon of TV binging.
At one point in the afternoon as I was sitting on the couch and eating a bowl of fruit, a thought came to mind “I’m going to drop this bowl.” And sure enough, I did. I immediately got off the couch and got some towels to clean it up. “How odd” I thought.
I called my mom and she thought that perhaps I was dehydrated and should load myself up with electrolytes. Off we went to the corner store to buy Gatorade. As I went to drink out of the 32oz bottle it was way too heavy for me to hold. I asked my husband to hold the bottle for me and then asked him to pinch my hand. (To this day I still don’t know what made me think to ask him to do this). I looked at him, waiting for him to pinch my hand…I looked down, he had already pinched it. There was a big nail divot in my hand.
We immediately got in a cab and went to the ER.
When we arrived at the ER they asked me a general list of questions, had me fill out paperwork,took my blood pressure and heart rate. I was then admitted into a room in the ER where a doctor and I discussed the events that led us to the hospital. He ordered for me to have an MRI.
While in the MRI I just laid there, wondering what was going on, why was I there? What are they seeing in the MRI images!? It wasn’t until about an hour after the MRI test that a doctor came into my room and said that I had a stroke….
“WHAT!?!?! But I’m only 30! I’m healthy! Active! Don’t take drugs! WHAT!?!?!”
She then asked me if I was on the pill.
“Yes.”
I was told at that moment that I was no longer allowed to take hormonal contraceptives.
The doctors admitted me into the neuro floor of the hospital where I spent the next week being poked and prodded and tested in search for anything else that may have caused the stroke. Ultrasounds on my legs to search for any other clots, a spinal tap to test bleeding in the brain and other conditions that might be affecting the nervous system, and then a test on my heart. How healthy was it? Were there any holes? Holes? Yes.
About 30% of us have a hole in our heart. This is the result of the heart not fully closing at birth and many times those of us with a hole have a heart murmur. I did not know I had a hole in my heart. For the most part we can live our lives with a hole in our heart and not have any problems with day to day life. Yet, doctors are finding through their research that "in patients who have a stroke of unknown cause, the prevalence of PFO increases about 40%". (http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/disorders/congenital/pfo) Instead of the blood circulating in the‘normal’ pattern, the clot may take a short cut through the heart and go to the brain, causing the stroke. Of course we did not have a camera in my body when the stroke happened but the doctors believed that the hole contributed to the stroke.
During the week I was in the hospital and going through various tests, I also began my physical and occupational therapy. The stroke had caused me to loose some strength on the left side of my body, I became more sensitive to sound (ie: white noise, like a fan, drove me crazy. It was very difficult for me to be in a room where more than one person was talking), I lost my ability to remember phone numbers, my social security number, number sequences I had known my entire life; I had difficulty focusing and concentrating on a task,struggled with basic math problems, short term memory loss, and had difficulty with finding the words I wanted to say.
Eventually I was discharged from the hospital and continued PT and OT for another 4 months. My PT and OT were both successful and I barely notice any residual side effects from my stroke. I know what I was like before the stroke happened, so I notice more differences than others, but it may also just be a result of getting older! LOL
Because I was still young, the doctors advised that I get the hole in my heart closed as a preventative measure for another stroke. Almost exactly one year after my stroke I had open heart surgery to close the hole. I was fortunate to have Dr. Oz as my heart surgeon!
The procedure was simple (well, as simple as open heart surgery can be I guess) and was a minimally invasive surgery. The doctors cut under my right breast and operated between my ribs to sew up my heart! I was in the hospital for about 4 days post-op and I started to feel back to myself about three weeks post-op.
It has now been six and a half years since my stroke and five and a half since my heart surgery. I sometimes can’t believe that I went through it all, as it seems so surreal. I am so grateful for survival and for the many many prayers that helped me press on. Praise the Lord.
I only hope that my story may help raise awareness and encourage others to know the signs of a stroke. Especially in women, as our risk factors can be a little different than the normal stroke patient (migraines, depression, pregnancy, the pill).
Please feel free to ask me questions. Send me an email, call, set up a coffee date, pony express. If you see me on the street or at an event, don't feel like this may be an "elephant in the room", let's talk! Ask away!
I will answer questions to the best of my knowledge and direct you to an article or organization if I don't have an answer.
Addendum/My soapbox…
Doctors are so quick to prescribe the pill that I feel they don't ask all of the precautionary questions or take any precautionary tests before handing out this extremely powerful daily drug. Since I had my stroke, I have heard more and more stories of young women who have also had a stroke because of birth control. Some have died, some paralyzed, some were lucky like me and hardly have any residual effects.
Awhile back, I was talking to a doctor about my stroke. I got on my soapbox and mentioned "If only doctors would do all of the precautionary testing on women before prescribing such a powerful drug" and he said "What, we're supposed to test every single woman that goes on the pill!?" I replied "YES! save a few lives!"
However, in addition to doctors being more careful about prescribing any old thing to their patients, we as the patient need to be careful in letting them prescribe any old thing to us.
Take charge, know your body, do your research.
I will be the first to admit, I took the pill without doing all of the precautionary research for myself. I assumed, like many of my friends and the other millions of women who take it, that I would be fine. That I was immune to the small print on the prescription information sheet. Yet, I was only on the pill for 15 months...and had a stroke.
I can't necessarily tell you what to do with your body and what to put in it or not put in it....but I can raise awareness. Just like knowing that we need to do 30 minutes of cardio and eat our fruits and veggies each day, we need to be aware of the fine print.
Know to take care of your body, know the warning signs of a stroke. Tell your friends and neighbors...and be careful.
I can not go back and change the past.
I am a young woman who has had a stroke and open heart surgery.
I now share my story, I raise awareness, I will try and do as Dr. Oz has challenged me and "go out and change the world".
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If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and do this simple test:
F—FACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
A—ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S—SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
T—TIME: If you observe any of these signs, call 911 immediately.
