Skip to main content

Dissection Duo

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1EfOtlZSZzg1DMKCSNPOuf1QgumnprAnZ
My wife and I are the dissection duo.

8 1/2 years ago I had a carotid dissection (strokes) which left me with aphasia, apraxia and other assorted invisible challenges

A week ago my wife had coronary dissection (heart attack). She has a spontaneous coronary artery dissection — sometimes referred to as SCAD — is an uncommon emergency condition that occurs when a tear forms in a blood vessel in the heart.

SCAD can slow or block blood flow to the heart, causing a heart attack, abnormalities in heart rhythm or sudden death. She almost died.

Both of us were in good health, never smoked ever, ate right, etc.

Now my wife is experiencing a common “when will it happen again.” Every twinge of pain sounds both of us in a panic.

When my strokes happened our son was six years old. Today he is 15 years old. He had to grow too soon with my medical problems. Now he’s right back to square one knowing that his mother almost died.

Of course I’m worried about my wife’s health and my health but I’m even more concerned about my son’s in mental health given to his parents.

I fear he’ll just be withdrawn and not talk about the situation and his fears. That is not healthy for him.

I rarely post anything. So worried for my son and my wife. 

Comments

Denise said…
Try to talk to him about it on an ongoing bases. It's really critical to keep the lines of communication open. Not always easy with a teenager, especially in a pandemic, but he might need some additional responsibilities to help out in the crisis. And YOU might need the help. Good luck!
July 20, 2020 at 2:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Same as it ever was

When I had my two strokes more than 13 years ago, I was 50 years old. In the ensuing years I’ve had some health issues related to my strokes and other assorted “age related” things. In May of 2023, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. As a result I have endured two years of pain and the resulting lack of exercise. That summer I tried to walk regularly but my heel pain was too extreme. I tried to do exercises to relieve the pain but nothing helped. In September of 2023 I asked my doctor to give me a shot of Cortizone. We were headed to Boston for meetings and then headed to Maine. I just wanted to enjoy the trip without pain. It helped a lot. Six months later I had the same pain. I went to an orthopedic doctor who prescribed minor physical therapy. It worked for a bit and then the pain got worse. In September of 2024, my regular doctor gave me another round of Cortizone shots so I could travel to Phoenix. It really helped. For a while. In February of 2025, the pain got worse. I went ...
Post a Comment
Read more

January

January 10th was the 13th anniversary of my first stroke. After 18 days in the hospital (including my second massive stroke were I lost almost everything) we celebrated my son’s seventh birthday. I wanted to celebrate my son‘s birthday but I had no idea the sensory overload would cause. The flashing lights, the unbearable noise of the crowds and the music, and loud conversations caused me to panic. In the midst of my brain damaged confusion, I had to go to the bathroom. At that point I really didn’t know how to navigate the restaurant even though I had been there many times. I didn’t know the concept of letters and I didn’t know what “men” and “women” were on the doors. My little son gripped my hand and said, “Daddy… I will take you to the bathroom.” Stumbling through the crowded restaurant I was scared. My son guided me to the proper door and asked if I needed any more help. After I finished I came out and he grabbed my hand and took me back to the booth. In January this year, We cele...
Post a Comment
Read more

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way:    “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind...
Post a Comment
Read more