National Stroke Awareness Month By Ashley
National Stroke Awareness Month
May is National Stroke Awareness Month. I have had two strokes—one when I was 25 and the other when I was 36. I am now 48. To look at me, you would never know I had these. Although my first one made me much sicker and caused more physical damage, either one could have killed me. One of the many doctors I saw said It was just sheer dumb luck that I was still alive. I always like to think that God’s just not done with me yet.
I am and always have been very healthy. I eat well, am not overweight, don’t smoke, exercise, and barely drink. I am what you might call a medical anomaly. In fact, I was sent to see a world-renowned neurologist, and his first words to me were, “Oh, Ashley, I scratch my head at you.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He then went on to ask me if I knew how lucky I was. I told him I thought I did. Rolling his stool closer to me and looking me straight in the eyes, he told me how one of his patients, a girl of just 27, had died the week before of the same thing that happened to me—nothing like a big dose of reality slapping you right in the face.
So what did happen to my body? Well, we are still not 100% sure, but it’s probably a combination of things.
With my first stroke, they discovered I had an antibody in my blood that causes clotting. It can disappear and reappear with no warning. Because of this, I was placed on a blood thinner. I stayed on blood thinners for a long, long, long time, and when the antibody disappeared for several years, the doctors felt comfortable taking me off and prescribing an aspirin a day. Six months later, I had my second stroke. The antibody was still gone, but they found a valve in my heart that did not close properly at birth. In some people, this unclosed valve can throw off clots to the brain, causing strokes. About 10 cardiologists discussed my condition and decided this could have been the culprit in someone so young and healthy with multiple strokes. So, I had a PFO closure (a little heart surgery) to close the valve. I was put back on blood thinners and remain on them to this day.
Like I said, to look at me, you would not guess that I had one, much less two strokes. My left side gets incredibly tingly, and I still have trouble feeling temperatures with it from time to time. (An interesting sensation.) I can also tell when a front is going to move in. If it’s a pretty hefty storm front, my left side feels like it’s on fire, and my right side aches. My doctor calls me a magical Celtic creature because of my weather-predicting ability. Magic or not, these residual effects do remind me how “lucky” I was and still am. I am so thankful I can move, walk, dance, exercise, paint, ride a bike, and type this post. No, God is not done with me yet.
I have included two sites about strokes. I encourage you to give them a look and share one or both with someone you love. You never know when you might help someone else or yourself!
National Stroke Awareness Month information
Thanks for reading!
