My Stroke of Insight

I was 23 years old. My son had recently turned 1 and I was getting ready to start back to school, follow my dreams, and make something of myself. Then, it happened. Sitting on the hospital bed in the ER, the doctor says to me, "Mrs. Poole, I believe you have just had a mini-stroke.  We are probably going to have keep you for a couple days to run some tests. You might want to call your husband or close family to let them know." I thought to myself, "A mini stroke? No. How could this happen to me? I am only 23 years old! Young people don't have strokes!" Then I wanted to slap myself.  "Hello Christian! Wake up! Your mother had a massive stroke at 39!"  

My mother was 39 when she had a massive stroke, or what is known as a hemorrhagic stroke (a bleed in the brain).  The stroke left her unable to talk, walk or eat on her own, and she was paralyzed on the right side. She spent about a week or so in the ICU. She had a feeding tube in her nose for a while and she had a colostomy bag.  When I walked into the ICU, she had no idea who I was or really anyone around her. She looked into my eyes and there was no recognition. I turned away, sat down and cried like a baby.
They eventually put my mother in a nursing home where she stayed 6 more years.  The nurses worked with her and she eventually learned how to eat on her own and some of her memory came back. She did have some short term memory loss, but she knew who her family was when we came to visit. She could remember things that happened 20 years ago, but if you told her something, she would forget it in a few hours. She could say "mama" for my grandmother and "baby" for me, since I was her youngest child, but that was about it. She did gain a little bit of movement on the right side by moving her leg a little, but she was mostly confined to a bed.  On October 10, 2012, just a couple hours after my nephew was born, my mother took her last breath and became an angel. 

After losing my mother, then finding out that I myself had suffered a mini-stroke, I knew I had to do something.  I knew I had to research strokes and know my risks.  The doctors asked about my family history and any medications I was on. Unfortunately, my family does have some pretty "sucky" genes and I relayed all that I knew to them:

- my mother had a massive stroke at 39
- my grandmother (maternal) has diabetes

- my grandfather (maternal) died of a massive heart attack at the age of 39

- my father has had a few mini heart attacks

- medication:  i was taking birth control and I (hate to admit it) was a smoker.

My doctor said that all of those factors combined together were probably what led to my stroke. She also wanted me OFF of birth control. I didn't know it but the hormones that the birth control puts in your system can elevate blood pressure and can in turn cause a stroke. My OB-GYN never told me about that.  

I began researching sites such as strokeassociation.org and stroke.org.  I also found numerous articles on younger people who have had strokes. Frankie Muniz, the former Malcolm In The Middle TV show star suffered 2 mini strokes recently. He was just 27 years old!   http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/11/frankie-muniz-suffers-second-mini-stroke/

So, i'm sure your reading this thinking, "This is very sad, but what does this have to do with me?"  I am sharing my story, and these websites with you because I want you all to know that you are not IMMUNE to a stroke. Yes, I should have been taking better care of myself but I also had other risks that affected my health and were risk factors for the stroke. I also want you to know the warning signs so that if you think you, or anyone around you is having a stroke, you can get medical attention a.s.a.p.

There is an important acronym you need to remember:    F.A.S.T.
F - FACE....ask the person to smile. look to see if one side droops down.

A - ARMS....ask the person to hold their arms straight out palms facing up. Look to see if one arms drops (like dead weight).

S - SPEECH....ask them to say a simple sentence. If their speech is slurred or sounds strange, this could be a sign of a stroke.

T - TIME...If you see any or all of these signs, get them an ambulance or to a hospital a.s.a.p. 

When my mother had her stroke, my grandmother said she looked up at her and tried to say "I love you" but it came out "I uhhhh ooh". She knew then she was having a stroke.  When my stroke happened, my left hand started going numb and the left side of my face was tingly. I couldn't write or even pick up a coin. My mind was saying to move my fingers, but they weren't working. I knew something wasn't right.

Please don't think that a stroke can't happen to you. It can happen to ANYONE. Know your risks. Know your family history. Get a head start on keeping your body healthy. Take preventive steps and measures.  Let others know about strokes and the signs. GET AWARENESS OUT.

My Mother - before the stroke

My Mother - after the stroke; me before my stroke

Me after the stroke

 

All About Me

I've never done a blog before in my whole life, so this is something new for me.

I guess to start off with, i'll give you some information about who I am, where I'm from and my personality.

I am a 24 year old mother and wife. I work as a 911 dispatcher for an ambulance service. I I have a handsome almost 2 year old son named Robert Charles. We all call him Robby for short. I am married to a hard working man named Zach. We also have a german shepherd/lab mix named Dizzybella (Dizzy for short). My family is small but they are the loves of my life. I love my boys and our "girl." =)

I was born December 27th, 1989 in McKenzie, TN. When i was around 2 years old my parents divorced. My mother had medical issues going on at the time, and due to her medical issues, my father was given custody of me. He gave me to my aunt and grandmother because he felt they could provide a better life for me than he could.

 

 

 

 

 

He worked a lot, so my aunt and grandmother (dad's mom and sister) basically raised me in Memphis, TN. I spent my summers and every other weekend at my mom's in Coffeeville, MS. I graduated from Harding Academy and went on to the University of Memphis. I was studying Criminal Justice. My junior year was when I met Zach. Yes, we met online. lol Sadly, of all things, we met on Myspace haha Then he added me to Facebook.

I found out he lived not too far from me, maybe 30 minutes. We had planned to meet for the first time. I wanted a friend to come with me, but they were all busy. So he decided to drive all the way out to campus and met me as my friends and I were walking to our cars. As I crossed the train tracks, he stepped out of his mom's expedition SUV. As I got closer I remember thinking, "He looks a lot better in person than he does in his pictures. He's very tall too!" We talked for a little while as he walked me to my car.

I took him to some of the football games at the University. We seemed to hit it off and pretty soon we were inseparable.  That spring I decided to take a semester off from school because I didn't feel like I was getting much out of the criminal justice classes. That following winter Zach and I got married at Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis. A month later we found out we were pregnant.

I guess you could say from then on, the rest is history!

So there's a little information about myself, and how my family started.