My life was turned upside down nearly 3 weeks ago.  On Super Bowl Sunday, my husband began what is known as a stroke cycle.

He started with some unexplained loss of balance, and lightheadedness.   He ate something, and appeared to be just fine.

The next morning, he went to work as usual, but felt very fatigued.   During his Monday morning sales meeting, he noticed difficulty taking notes. He phoned his Dr, who sent him to the ER.   We were there until 10 pm Monday evening, when they sent us home with a DX of a TIA.

Early Tuesday am, he woke and fell flat on his face and could not speak.   I called 911 and they were on the scene within 1 minute!!

When Dave got to hospital and had his MRI-he was in full stroke mode.   They admitted him to the critical stroke area- and watched him closely.    His stroke actually continued into the next morning, when he lost the motor control of his right arm and strength in his right hand.  

Luckily, by Thursday, he had stabilized, and was moved to rehab.   He has been there ever since.   He is doing incredibly well with rehab so far.

I’ve been staying at the hospital on a cot next to his bed.  Anyone who knows anything about PIDD patients, knows that I have no business being in a hospital.   Of course, the second week, I woke up during the night with fever, throwing up, shivering like crazy and sicker than a dog.   The nurses were in the room all night taking care of ME!!   I barely had the strength to walk through the hospital to get to my car to go home to sleep this one off.   I was back in the following evening- even though I’ve not fully recovered.

Dave comes home from hospital on Friday afternoon, and I would love to be able to sleep for 3 days straight- but now comes the really challenging part.   How will a patient have the energy to become the caregiver and take care of the patient.

I have this feeling we will be taking turns looking out for each other.

Actually, right this minute- I just have no idea how this will all play out- but I also have the sense we will learn a new dance, have different music and and a different beat.   Isn’t this what life is all about anyway?  It’s not supposed to be easy.

I will keep you posted as to how this new chapter of our lives evolves.

CONGRATULATIONS on your success in the People’s Health Blogger Awards Competition. Your readers have spoken, and you’ve been chosen as the Best Overall winner!

The competition was a huge success, with hundreds of the best health bloggers competing and thousands of votes cast. The competition during the last few weeks was intense, but in the end, your blog www.biorx.net/carolsblog/ was ranked as the best. This award is a recognition by your readers for the contribution you are making through your blog, so you should feel very proud of your achievement! As the Best Overall Winner, your profile now appears prominently on the top of the People’s Health Blogger award page at http://www.wellsphere.com/healthBloggerAwards.s , and a special badge now appears next to your name in all of your article listings on Wellsphere. Check out your profile page at http://www.wellsphere.com/a-profile/113005 to see your award displayed on your profile.

We have prepared your Best Overall Winner award badge for you, so you can display your achievement to your readers on your blog. You should feel proud to display this award on your blog; you deserve it.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR MY BLOG.