Skip to main content

I am glad that I am alive...

I have been mulling over in my mind my visit with the neurologist on Tuesday. What she said is not just amazing, it is also alarming. When she showed me the scans, along with my wife and a student in neurology, she said something that is not only amazing, but it could also be alarming to the hearer.

When I had my eyes closed (because she had to do some motion tests with my eyes closed) I heard the student say that, if she was reading the scans right, I should not be able to do anything on my own. What the Dr. said was that this man (me) no longer has a cerebellum so he can't sit up, he can't walk, he can't do anything that requires any balance without one. Now, she knows, my wife knows, the student knows that whether I can or can't, I am. THAT is amazing...it can also be alarming.

To know that I do not have a cerebellum anymore...to know that I tried to keep myself in good health...to know that I tried to lower my cholesterol...to know that I tried to lower every bad thing in me and I STILL don't have a cerebellum is alarming. Now, I am NOT saying that you should not lower those things...I am just saying that you never know when you are going to have a stroke...no matter what you do, a stroke truly is a silent killer. What you need to do...get your blood pressure checked, and if it is high then do whatever the Dr tells you. Get your cholesterol checked and do whatever the Dr tells you (if you don't like certain foods, you will learn to like them or you'll be dead). Lower anything the Dr tells you to lower. No matter what it takes, do it. Because hearing the words you don't have a cerebellum anymore is quite alarming. Maybe you'll be like me and have a nearly full recovery. But, most likely you won't and you'll be dead. The last thing that I can remember the Dr saying on Tuesday is that this would have killed most people.I don't know you, but I think that you fall in the category of "most people".  Don't try to emulate me, you be a picture of health and get yourself checked often.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes my new life stinks...

For the last few weeks I have been experiencing some pretty terrible headaches; not the kind that you can relieve by rubbing your temples or taking Tylenol, but headaches that radiate from the back of my head. It seems as though I have tried several things to relieve them: taking naps, lying down on heating pads, taking Tylenol, turning the lights of, etc. but nothing seems to help. Now, I don't have them all the time, only a few days a week and I can tell that they are more from muscle tightness than anything else. I have been instructed to go the ER if they flare up again, because of my past history of headaches before my stroke, but most likely it is due to the muscles that were cut in the back of my head for the Craniotomy. I would say that most days I do not struggle with headaches at all; but, the days I do have headaches they are a doozy. I don't have blurred vision with them or sensitivity to light or sound; it just hurts. As I look back over the past 3+ years I realize...

A little lethargic the last couple of days....

The last couple days I have been really, unusual. I don't know exactly how to describe it. I'm tired all the time. No matter how long I sleep at night I never seem to get enough sleep. The last few days I have noticed that my eyes have been acting a little weird. I tried to explain it to someone but it is like I just can't find the words to describe it right. It is worse when I have to change my focus, when I am looking at one thing and then have to change the focus to something else it seems as though it takes just a fraction of a second to refocus. Now, a fraction of a second does not seem bad until you are driving; then it can be pretty problematic. I also noticed that I seem to get a little dizzy when I stand up. It is not something that really bothers me, but it is a little irritating. It is not bad enough that I think "Oh, no, not this again." But it is something I notice. I don't know, perhaps it is because tomorrow will be the 2 year anniversary of the...

There are just some things I still cannot get used to...

The other day when I was exercising (I try to exercise every day to keep my cholesterol down), I had a very interesting experience. I wish I could say that this was a unique experience, but it has happened a few times over the last couple years. In the middle of my exercise routine, my legs started to get weak, my heart started racing, my breath was rapid and I had to lie down to get my strength back. The first time it happened, I was really worried about it and went to the doctor. It has only happened 2 or 3 times in the last 2 1/2 years, so it is not a regular occurrence, but it worries me when it does happen. The first time I went to the doctor, he did not seem to be alarmed because the "stuff" stopped happening after a few minutes. I am not sure if it does happen again if I should go to the ER? Any thoughts?