Excerpt from a memoir
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EnglishVoice Age
Senior (55+)Accents
North American (Canadian-General) North American (General)Transcript
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excerpt from a memoir written by Patsy Shell, Thursday October 31, 2018. You have had a stroke. Dr c said to me actually, the tests show you have had one or two strokes in the past. Do you recall when they were I stared at him uncomprehending lee. At first I couldn't remember what a stroke was. I knew from tv commercials that had happened to older people and that the four signs were slurred speech, loss of balance, inability to raise your arm over your head and numbness in the side of your face or body. These symptoms didn't apply to me. I have never had any strokes before. I replied. The only odd things I recalled were too Dizzy spells that had lasted all day. One in the summer of 2013 and the other earlier in the summer. This year, 2018. Both had started suddenly for no apparent reason and were so intense that I was nauseous and had to lay down perfectly still on the floor with my eyes closed to eventually stop the spinning room. They both disappeared later in the day after arrest and seemed to be completely random. I had spoken to my doctor on both occasions, but when he took my blood pressure and did blood work, there seemed to be no cause he could see he thought it might be vertical. Not uncommon with older people. It always bothered me. When professionals relegated various physical issues, I asked about two things that happened to people as they get older. I didn't feel older as a 69 year old. I felt like a 59 year old. That was the new truth. Everyone was saying it looks like an ischemic stroke caused by a blood clot in the back of your brain. This has blocked blood flow in your occipital lobe area that impacts vision, visual perception and some cognitive function. Dr C went on. I was still drawing a complete blank. The nurses had told me that day after the first set of tests that I was very fortunate to have DR. C, the hospital neurologist, an expert in post stroke and brain injury, managing my care. But what exactly was a neurologist. I didn't know. Sure. Today I didn't feel great. I had a bad headache double vision and couldn't see anything on my left side. My wonky vision was making me dizzy but I had no trouble walking, talking or responding rationally to all the doctors questions. He must be mistaken. I thought can my eyesight be regained if my prescription has changed? I asked, this is not an eyesight issue, he replied matter of factly.