Personal News

I hope my readers will indulge me a few lines of personal news.

Many of you know that I've had some medical problems over the past few years.  I enjoyed a heart attack two and a half years ago, had knee replacement surgery a year ago, and have not really felt well at all over the past few weeks.

There are many symptoms that have presented themselves.  I've noticed over the past few months that my voice has become a little bit gravelly.  I occasionally have trouble focusing my eyes.  My feet and lower legs are becoming numb.  I noticed that I sometimes get confused and can't understand what is going on around me.  I noted last Sunday that sometimes the words I hear are gibberish. I have trouble grasping small objects.  I lose grip on things like coins, pens, and the like. My speech is slurred and harder to understand, even by me.  I thought this must be just because I'm getting a little older.   But yesterday I was in melt-down mode.  My blood pressure spiked.  My hands began to shake, my left cheek tingled into partial numbness, my head ached horribly.  I was terrified, and I still am terrified.  I worried that I might be experiencing a "mini-stroke".  The symptoms soon subsided, but my supervisor advised me to go home and I did.  I didn't think it was anything REAL serious, but when I began to research the symptoms I began to be terrified again.  I was pretty sure I had experienced a mini-stroke. 

I went to my personal physician today.  He ran a bunch of motor tests, and talked to me for quite some time.  At the end of our time together he advised me to see a neurologist and to get an MRI on my brain.  He indicated that it may well have been a mini-stroke.  He didn't, however, tell me not to work (although I didn't ask either).  I went back to work and finished out the day today.

I will undergo MRI on Monday, and then I have to wait for 2 weeks for my appointment to see the neurologist.  We don't have that many of them in St. George.

I notice that I am slower today than normal.  I can't get my body to respond well.  I have trouble balancing.  Some of the tests my doctor gave me to do were: balance on one foot, balance on tip toes, balance on heels, walk as if on a line, heal to toe.  I had trouble with all of those tests. 

I am prescribed a blood pressure medicine, but I suspect that is not a cure for whatever is going on. 

Through it all my princess bride has been stalwart.  I love her, and I know she loves me.  She must for all I've put her through over the past few years.

I apologize for the deviation from my normal rant.  Perhaps I'll return to it later in the week.