Exploding Brain - It's More Than a GIF

Strokes are not funny things, but they are mysterious for sure. When I had my stroke on New Year's Eve 2018, I was left with balance issues, not being able to multitask any longer, and a crooked smile. The experience was scary and we jokingly called it the Exploding Brain Disease because it left you with an MRI of a blown-out area that didn't care how much you were using it! I hoped no one else in my family would ever experience this, but it was not to be.

Friday night after I went to bed, my dear sweet husband Scott felt someone touching his arm and he thought for a brief moment all the ghost stories I tell were true. Then he said he felt like something exploding in the brain space just above his right ear. The pain was terrible and he assumed it was a migraine so he took something and then went to bed, not sleeping well at all.

The next morning I got up early as usual and allowed him to sleep. Soon Scott was having difficulty opening the door and I could not understand him as he dashed to the bathroom. It sounded like he was destroying the room and as he talked to himself, he didn't sound like himself. When he came out, I could not understand him and he staggered like a drunk man. Finally getting him to sit down, he told me as best he could what happened the night before. From the slurring of his speech, the drooping of his left side, I knew something was wrong; he was having a stroke.

I rushed him to the Emergency Room and they began to take care of him as best they could. At one point during the day, I was pulled aside and told to not expect him to recover from this. He would always have slurred speech, no real use of his left side because he had had a severe stroke. Yes, physical therapy would teach him how to deal with this, but he would be crippled like this for the rest of his life.

I went home and cried for him, for me, for us. I knew the road he was going down and know his stroke was much worse than mine had been. Determined, I made plans for the worst and began to research disability and what life would be like for us. Questions of doubt came to mind: Would he ever work again? Do we need to go back to Oklahoma? How would we ever make it? WOULD WE EVER BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AGAIN? I felt helpless and worried causing me to feel almost defeated as I was becoming more and more exhausted. I needed to rest.

The next morning I felt better, amazing how even a little sleep will do that. I knew things were going to be rough, but I also knew it was not as dire as I had felt the night before. I remember how I was making plans for the worst last night, but I could hear my dad say, "Make plans for the worst, but always hope for the best; it will cause you to never regret the bad days." I finally understood what Daddy was trying to say: If you know what needs to be done on the darkest of days, you will always be prepared and you will not feel defeated.

...meaning you do what you need to do to get through the day. This was going through my mind as well and I knew I could get through this situation. Scott was there for me as I healed from the stroke and now it was my turn and we would get through this day by day because "tomorrow is the goal."

After getting around with determination to have a good attitude, I made my way back to the hospital to help my husband get through this dark time. I found myself thinking, "Be Positive, don't allow him to think you can't get through this." Scott has always been there for me, encouraging me, and comforting me; I am sure he was feeling helpless. He is an extremely smart man and I am sure not being able to talk correctly was frustrating for him. Then there was the fact that he could not control his hand; how was he going to play guitar or take those amazing night sky photos?

I walked into the hospital room to find Scott smiling that amazing smile he has without any drooping, there was NO slurring of speech, and his left hand was much better. We were all stunned, me, the doctor, the nurse, and the physical therapist! I could not believe this was the same man who I took into the ER 24 hours prior. The stroke he had was not minor and had caused many issues, but here he was not showing any of the outward signs and it helped to bring a lot of relief to us both.

I took a few moments and spoke with the Physical Therapist about strokes and how to know when one was happening. He showed me the BEFAST stroke scale, which can be seen in the image above. Explaining the sooner a person is brought in for care for a stroke, the better it is for them. There is a small window of opportunity for the health care providers to stop or minimize the damage of strokes, so Be Aware so you can BEFAST.

Because Scott was doing so well, he was released on Monday. There are many things that still have to happen like physical therapy, finding answers to why this happened, and how to keep it from happening again. He is on the path of better health, but his only thought, as we were walking out of the hospital, was...