Good Walking

As part of my progress after my stroke, I've been walking. Nothing really strenous - it's more "feel-good" for my head than anything else.

Recently I ran across a book in my library about foraging for wild mushrooms. Fall in New England is an excellent time to 'shroom hunt, so I decided to take a walk off the beaten path.

Since I still have some walking issues with stability, I've only been walking on flat, paved surfaces. The call of the 'shroom was strong, though, and I headed towards a nearby forest preserve.

It was late afternoon, making for lots of shadows on the trail. That meant I had to be extra careful not to trip on the many tree roots and rocks found about every 3 feet down the trail.

The good news was that this trail was marked 'easy'. The bad news is that there was no mention of the rock walls one has to climb over, or the boggy areas you cross using open, 12-inch wide walkways (no railings, thank you).

Managed the short rock wall - very carefully.

The planks across the boggy areas were a bit more challenging, since they are only 12 inches wide. There's no railings. And the damned thing wasn't straight either, and was more than 100 feet in length. To me, it looked like an extra-long balance beam, just waiting for me to fall off and land in six inches of mucky bog.

But, again going slowly, I did it. My balance held and I walked the length of that plank path without falling in.

Wandered the first half of the trail for about an hour, took my time, didn't fall once!! It was great to get out in fresh air, talk to the birds, and search for mushrooms. Found several different kinds, but not the edible ones I was looking for. Still, I had a wonderful time, and now feel much more confident about my slow but sure walking.

And there's still mushrooms waiting out there for me!

Life Post-Stroke is Different, but Good

After my stroke, I learned several things. In the hospital, they did all sorts of tests on me - CAT scans, an MRI, ultrasounds, plus blood sugar tests several times every day.

From the tests I discovered that I have a carotid artery that is completely blocked, and the other carotid that is 60% blocked. That sounded pretty scary, until my doctor explained that one can function very well with just one working carotid, as it will provide enough blood flow to the brain to accomplish everything needed. At the same time, the partially blocked carotid needs to be maintained, so I'm now on blood thinners to make sure all works well. In a few weeks I'll be seeing a vascular surgeon about the carotids, but for now, my doctor is satisfied that all is well.

Another thing I found out is that I've actually had four strokes. Apparently, from the MRI there are four spots in my brain which show stroke damage of some kind. My doctor, an internist, wasn't able to tell me more, but when I see the vascular surgeon I'll have questions. For now, I've decided not to worry about it - I can't change it, and my brain is working well right now. Whatever will be, will be . . .

I also learned that my blood sugar was way too high, even though I was faithfully taking my prescribed meds every day. Unfortunately, those meds just weren't doing the job, so now I'm on additional medicines that help the first meds keep my blood sugars lower. I'm doing well, my blood sugars are much lower than before, but I'm still not quite at a level that makes my doctor happy.

So the next step is to get some exercise. Exercise has proven to be one of the best ways to lower one's sugar. I've been overly tired these past few months, probably from not realizing my sugar was so out of whack, and I haven't been doing much exercise-wise. So I'm now going to start slowly, mostly walking, with the idea of building up a regular walking program.

Although I'd been taking meds for my inactive thyroid, it just wasn't enough. That was also part of my tiredness - my thyroid wasn't working very well. My doctor has doubled my thyroid meds, and I'm getting some stamina and strength back. It's going to take awhile for it all to make a difference in how I feel, but I've already noticed some improvement.

One of the things which came as a surprise was that when my blood sugar is over 180 (90-100 is about the norm), it makes me go to the bathroom much more frequently. That explains all those nights when I had to pee four to six times; I didn't get much sleep those nights. Now that my blood sugar is lower, I'm only getting up one or two times a night - hurray for a good night's sleep!

Thank you to all who have written such kind notes and well-wishes. I cannot begin to tell you how much they mean to me. Your support has been absolutely wonderful, and I cherish you all as my dear, dear friends.

Special thanks to Sybille Yates for starting a Facebook group "Get well soon Beth (Loongirl) Pulsipher!"

What a hoot - with an invitation from Sybille, I even joined my own Get Well group!

Life is Full of Changes, but I'm Still Here

A week ago my life changed forever.

At age 54, I had a stroke.

It was around 8 pm, and I was cleaning up in the kitchen after making some jello. My right leg suddenly went wobbly, and after a few seconds of fighting to stand, I slid to the floor.

"No problem," I thought, "I'll just rest here for a few moments, then I'll get up and go sit for a while." As I turned over to position myself to stand up, I flopped on my face. My right side, both arm and leg, were completely paralyzed. They were both just dead weight, and wouldn't budge.

At that moment, I realized I'd had a stroke. My brain was still functioning, but when I tried to talk out loud to myself into moving towards a chair, I realized that my speech was screwed too.

Time to regroup. I needed help. I was alone, all by myself in a loft apartment over an antiques shop which was closed for the evening. The only help was my bedroom phone, just 40 feet away.

Forty feet is a long, long ways when only half your body works. I dragged myself, slowly, six inches at a time. After every pull-push, I rested for a few minutes. My useless right arm kept trapping beneath my body, making it even harder to move forward - and I couldn't make that arm do anything. Moving fast just wasn't going to be an option.

It took two hours to get to the phone. By then, my arm and leg were working a bit, although not completely. I was able to reach my phone, and called my neighbor instead of 911. I was afraid that the 911 operator wouldn't be able to understand me, maybe not even hear me. My voice was so small and frail, and it still wasn't much more than garble. I sounded like my mouth was full of cotton balls.

My good friend and neighbor, Miriam, is also my landlord. She is a true gem. I never call her late at night, so this call was unusual. I could only stammer a few words, and she knew immediately that I was in trouble. She came running, believing that I was going into diabetic shock. She was there, in her jammies, inside of a minute - we live in separate buildings only 50 apart.

I wasn't able to tell her much - being a bit dazed from dragging myself across the apartment, I just wasn't able to talk. The only thing I could get out were two words - "stroke . . . hospital."

She called the ambulance, got me help, and had me on my way to the hospital in very short order. She followed in her big antiques van, and stayed with me for hours in the ER until I was finally taken to my room. She made phone calls for me. She held my hand. She is the best friend one could ask for.

So, for the past week, I've been in the hospital and now, finally, released with no restrictions. I can talk and walk. The doctor has told me to do whatever I want as long as I am comfortable.

My speech has returned to nearly 100%. But I'm paranoid that every time I mis-speak - as we all do sooner or later - that it's because of the stroke.

Tom is here with me now, for the time being. He's made sure I take all my new meds - there's a whole lot of them now, at least until they get me balanced. He's cooked for me, driven me around to doctors and lab tests. He's taken me out for photo shoots just for fun. He's helped me ease back into life again. He is the very best of best husbands one could have. I am so blessed.

Because of him, I'm beginning to think I'm okay. That's the first huge step towards wellness.

I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.

The more I say it, the easier it gets.