Some things you're just never prepared for
 

So Friday night, my wife and I are making dinner when, boom, she sits down on the floor in the kitchen all of a sudden, saying she has a headrush. Didn't think too much of it at first, but when I ask her if she's ok, she starts talking as though she's drunk, slurring her words seriously, kind of giggly like. I tried standing her up and she could only stand with major assistance from me. After some frantic figuring out where the closest hospital was (only a couple miles away luckily) I got her in the car and got there quite a bit faster than the speed limit allows.

Once the first nurse started evaluating her, they moved very quickly, determining that it was likely a stroke. That had been my initial thought when I first heard her talking, but my wife is only 30 years old, so I had half convinced myself it was something else. They pretty quickly found that one of the small arteries in her neck had a small tear and that a clot had formed there and moved into the brainstem. Luckily though, blood was still flowing past or it could have been much worse. She had been complaining about a sore neck for the past week, which we both figured was a strained muscle from working out.

Anyway, she's still in the hospital, but out of ICU now and may be able to come home tomorrow. She's already shown a lot of recovery, with most of her motor skills coming back. Her only real issues at the moment seem to be her vision is a bit blurry because she's having trouble focusing her left eye and her balance walking is still a bit off. But even these are already much better. The doctors are pretty sure she's going to make a complete recovery.

I guess as much as anything, this is a warning to take these types of things seriously. I knew absolutely nothing about strokes before this weekend, but if I hadn't gotten my wife to the hospital as quickly as I did, I could have lost her or ended up with a very different woman. Three hours seems to be the crucial deadline. If they can start treatment within three hours of a stroke, it can often be treated completely.

Thank God she looks to be on her way back so soon!

This is the one area where being married can come in handy... good thing you were there.

Glad to hear she's doing better, i'll pray for a full recovery.

Wow, scary story. Glad that the outlook looks promising.

Thank god you thought so quickly.

My wife and I went through something similar but she was driving and all of a sudden her vision went double and blurried. We pulled over and called my uncle ( who is a MD). He told us to go straight to the hospital and lucky for us it was just her eye muscles got fatigued. We were freaked since strokes run in her family. I remember how freaky it was.

Good luck to you both, I'll pray for her speedy recovery.

Great reactions on your part. Somewhere around here you'll find a thread about the same type of thing happening with my father. If nothing else I hope all of these stories make everyone more aware of these type of symptoms to get help immediately.

I echo everyone else's sediments here, you did an excellent job of getting your wife to the hospital quickly.

My mother went through exactly the same thing and less than a year later is 100% recovered. As you mentioned, 3 hours IS the magic number. Whenever there's slurring of speech involved, head right for the hospital.

Oh wow - terrifying...glad you kept composed and did the right thing so quickly. You likely saved your wife from a much more serious outcome. We'll be thinking about you guys, our best wishes for a speedy recovery!

That's very scary indeed. Glad to hear things are looking OK so far. Best wishes!

That is terrifying...I'm thrilled that everything is OK. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

Wow, I'm glad to hear she's doing well. That is really scary. I hope everything continues to turn out positively.

Really glad she's going to be okay, bro.

Ryche, so thankful that you were there and provided a quick response. Something similar happened to my wife a couple of years ago. She had passed out and hit the floor hard at a store - while I was in California. The paramedics took her to the hospital and a day later, she was diagnosed with low blood pressure. As long as she kept up water drinking, protein and sodium, she would be ok. But I still wish I had been there, like you had been. I hope you wife will fully recover. Any idea what caused the tear in the first place?

Wow. That's awful. Glad things turned out ok

SI

I'm glad she seems alright, and will say a prayer.

My god, what a terrifying wake up call. My heart goes out to you - that sort of thing really scares me (and my wife and I are in our early 40s).

Thank goodness you were by her side. Best of luck with a speedy and full recovery.

yeah. Holyfuck. Glad things seem to have worked out okay

Ryche sorry to hear what happened but it is good to know she is doing better. Great on the spot thinking on your part. You guys are in my prayers.

Thank you all. Like I said, so far so good, she's doing pretty well, can mostly walk on her own now. Looks like she'll be coming home today or tomorrow. I think the biggest challenge will be slowing her down. She's a workout freak, pretty much has to be at the gym at least an hour a day. For the first month though, she can't lift more than 10 pounds or do more exercise than walking. Should be interesting.

Crap. Good to hear she is getting better at least. Best wishes.

Wow. Scary stuff. Glad that it looks like she'll be okay.

Seeing this thread a day after initially reading, I can't help but think: Ryche, you were prepared afterall and did the right thing when you had to.

Best wishes with the recovery!