Am I having a stroke? How can this be happening to me?
I was working at my desk in our office with Nena when I began to feel a strange sensation in my right leg. Thinking perhaps I had been sitting incorrectly, I got up and commented to Nena about it. I tried hobbling around, but the sensation continued to grow stronger, and my leg was quickly losing motor control. I decided to lie on the bed for a few minutes. The loss of feeling persisted in my leg, but everything else felt fine. My speech was clear, and my mind was unaffected.
My 10 years of experience as a physical therapist led me to suspect a stroke, though the symptoms were atypical. Nena came in and told me we were going to the emergency room. I knew she was right, so I reluctantly agreed.
In the ER a neurologist was assigned to manage my case. Quickly they wheeled me in for an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. They found an infarct—a stroke—quickly developing in my brain. The doctor told me I needed to have a dose of tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) to break up the clot. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it at the hospital. What’s more, as they called around to the other area hospitals, they discovered that none of them had it either.
Nena and I kept watching the clock. We knew there was a limited window of time in which tPA would be effective. We prayed together, asking God to give us wisdom to know what to do and to direct my physician.
A few minutes later the doctor returned. She said that I would be taken to the ICU so they could start me on medication. In the ICU, as they connected an I.V. line, I kept praying silently that the right thing would be done for me. I asked what type of medication I was receiving, and they told me it was tPA. I was puzzled but overjoyed! Three minutes later, I felt sensation returning to my leg and foot. Soon my leg was back to about 80-percent strength.
Since I am an otherwise healthy 42-year-old with no obvious risk factors for a stroke, I was an unusual case. The doctor kept me in the hospital for six days of testing and monitoring. After a battery of tests, they discovered that I have a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale), a hole between the two atria of my heart. This hole exists in the hearts of all babies in the womb, but it usually closes shortly after birth. Mine never did. The doctor informed me that I would have to be on Aspirin and Plavix for the rest of my life. After completion of all the tests, I learned that I’m a candidate for a PFO closure surgery to correct the abnormality.
I am extremely grateful to God for restoring my health. I can truly testify that it is only through His grace and power that I am alive and well. Having worked with stroke patients, I know that the outcome could have been far worse. But I believe that God worked all things for good in my situation. He still has a work for me to complete.
I solicit your prayers that God will lead us to the right cardiac physician who has experience and is willing to perform my PFO closure.
