Day Eighteen 09/18/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

Today I did not have much time to paint, so I worked on another abandoned painting.  My husband Lanier had a TIA last night at 8:30pm.  His speech was garbled. He knew what he wanted to say but could not correctly verbalize himself. This is known as 'expressive aphasia'.  Since I have spent the last 35 years in Cardiology assessing and treating patients, I knew exactly what to do.

 I first noticed the exact time, then checked his blood pressure,  pulse and noticed the rhythm of his pulse.  Then I did a neuro exam which included:  asking him to stick out his tongue and move it side to side; blow up your cheeks, make a smile, frown, blink your eyes, follow my moving finger with your eyes, hold your arms out straight in front of you with your eyes closed (they should both stay up), shrug your shoulders, squeeze my finger with each hand, lift both legs, lift your feet, push down on your feet, stand up, walk heel-toe heel-toe, say your alphabet, who is the President, what day is today, how old are you?  He still could not speak correctly after this quick 5 minute exam.  I gave him two 325mg aspirin (non coated) and got him in the car and took him to the ER.  

On the way there, I called the ER and told them I was bringing in my husband who was having his first stroke. I told them to start the "Stoke Protocol at 8:30pm".  I gave them his name and a very brief medical history. I then held my husband's hand while I carefully hauled ass to the ER. We got there safe and sound, and there was absolutely no wait as I told them at check-in that I called in a "Stroke Protocol at 8:30pm".  He was immediately taken to triage and was in a CT scanner within 5 minutes of arrival. His symptoms resolved within 80 minutes.  He was not given the "clot buster" since his speech returned to normal. At the two hour window, he was fine.  You only have a two hour window!  Time is brain. If his speech difficulty had not resolved, he would have been given the TPA.  If you wait at home trying to decide if you have an emergency or not, and the two hour window is up, the damage to the brain will extend and a full blown stroke occurs.  The brain is not very forgiving.  He was admitted,  had more tests and we were home the next day by 2pm.  He was put on Plavix to take in addition to his lipid lowering drugs and his baby aspirin.  I will watch him closely for a week, as the first week after the first TIA is a high risk time to have a full blown stroke.

God is good and was merciful to us!