MY STROKE STORY
My story starts with me having a hemorrhagic stroke on May 1, 2014. I just got out of the shower and was getting dressed when I thought I felt a hair strand in my shirt. (It felt like a spider walking on my arm. EW!!) Then I noticed my arm feeling numb. I wasn't dizzy. I wasn't nauseated. I could still talk normally, and my vision was normal. I made a call to Kaiser to schedule an appt. When they suggested I talk to a triage nurse, I did. And very calmly told me that when I hang up the phone, to call 911 and go to the ER right away. She did not tell what she was thinking, but I'm like, "Can my husband just take me right now, because we can leave right away?" She discouraged it, but I let Rex take me anyway. We got there in 15 minutes from Chula Vista. When I got there, they immediately took my vitals, and could not get a blood pressure reading. So they placed me in a bed right away. When they got me on a bed, they were finally able to get a reading, 217/110. Yeah, SHOCK of my life! My mouth fell open.
After a CT scan and MRI, it was confirmed that it was a small aneurysm in my brain that was bleeding. Thankfully, no surgery was necessary as the bleed was small enough to be absorbed back into the brain on my own. But they had to get my blood pressure under control, so they kept me overnight for observation. Thank GOD I didn't need any kind of therapy - no physical, occupational, or speech therapy needed. I took a week off, changed some things in my life, and things were back to normal. The only thing that was sad for me was that I missed Jordan's Confirmation. I always try to be present for their events.
My Heart Story
I was born with a heart murmur, so every time I went to the dr's office for my annual check-up, they would always ask, "Did you know you have a heart murmur?" There was nothing they needed to do during those times of asking me, so I lived my life as I do. Beginning of 2023, I started noticing that I would be so winded just casually walking from Hepner Hall to the Student Union. I thought it was my asthma acting up so I didn't think anything of it. I pretty much swept it under the rug. But when it happened 3 times in 4 months, I had a feeling I needed to tell my doctor. Since I had an appt in July, I told my dr at that appt. She immediately said that they had to run tests, so they had me do some stress tests. And when they didn't schedule me right away, she made some calls to have me tested right away. Angiogram was also scheduled in September of 2023 (9/22/23 to be exact). When I got to the hospital for an angiogram, the dr who was supposed to do the procedure looked at the results from my stress tests and said that you will have to have surgery to replace my aortic valve. I am still going to do the procedure to confirm, but your tests pretty much all lead to the replacement.
After this procedure, it was so scary, really, because they started drawing on my legs and taking blood and doing all sorts of things. I was still trying to accept that heart surgery was in my very near future. Plus, the thought of the possibility of having a heart attack also weighed me down. I took the 1st available appt with the surgeon, because I knew I wanted to take care of this as quickly as possible. Dr. Baradarian from Scripps is amazing, and he made me feel at ease when he talked about the procedure. In talking with him, he mentioned that while I didn't need to have bypass surgery, it was probable that I would have it done in the near future. I told him to just take care of it while he is already in there. I didn't want to have another open-heart surgery. The primary was the aortic valve replacement, and the secondary was the bypass.
I had 3 weeks to prepare mentally for this procedure. I had to tell my kids, my family...close friends. Rex was a trooper to care for me in those 3 weeks. I worked for the next 2.5 weeks, taking off the Friday before my surgery to just kind of relax, but really, how could I? I knew God had my back (I really did), I prayed a lot, and I just thought of what I would do when life got back to normal. I never had any doubts about continuing my life. I knew it wasn't over yet and that there was still a lot left for me to do. The day before the surgery, I spent time with my kids, my parents, my sister/Rob, and of course, Rex. I had to wake up to do the bath thing and get ready. I had to check in at like 5am at Scripps La Jolla. The drive was quiet, but we would try to make small talk. When we still had some time, it was hard not to finally break down, knowing what was going to happen. Thankfully, a good friend of ours offered to hang out with Rex until my surgery was done.
I went home after about a week, and for those who know me, it was really hard to truly sit still. It lasted a few days, Rex taking me on a half a block walks or running errands for me. Cooking my meals, where I had no appetite. It was really hard not being able to care for myself like I'm used to. I even went to a formal event. I didn't do anything, but I wanted to go out and see people. We didn't stay long, but long enough to put a smile to my face. I wanted to be there for the princesses of Prinsesa ng Bayan. I did cardiac rehab and also joined the gym for as long as I could.
Current Life
Life is different. I stay as active as best I can. I go on walks when I can. It's not as cold anymore, so I get to walk to work. I have had to make life changes so that I am not stressed. I have lost a little weight and managed to keep it off. I watch my blood pressure and my blood sugars, which have been really good and in control. I am enjoying the busy life with all the organizations I am part of, all the volunteer work that I do, and all the friends I meet along the way, which have made my life very fulfilling!
Won't you join me in walking and raising money for this great cause?