The weight of air

I am beat. Do you mind some bullet points?

Bill finally allowed me to get him to a specialist for a second opinion. He had no choice. It was either go to the doctor, or die from the brain trauma that I was inflicting on him with my constant crying and pleading. That and having to shovel me off the floor every time he complained of what we are now affectionately calling “bobble head” (disequalibrium and uncoordination).

*We went to the neurologist yesterday. Not just any neurologist, but one who did his residency at mayo clinic.
*Bill had a sensory stroke in the white matter of his mid brain.
*It is not visible on the MRI from 2 weeks ago
*The one that is visible is not of worry….could have been an infection from 30 years ago, so he doesn’t even think that area is a stroke.
*It could have been the migraine that caused the stroke
*Less likely it could have been some mild plaque build up in his carotid arteries and his aortic arch that broke off.
*He needs to get his LDL down to below 70.

The great news is that because he started his meds so quickly, he probably (but no guarantee) will not experience any future problems. The Crestor he is on will kick the LDL’s rear.

The symptoms should disappear in 3 to 6 months, and they will come and go. That is normal for this type of stroke. He may have some mild residual deficit.

The doctor was decisive, had a calm voice, was super friendly, and spent an hour with us. He was not vague, and answered each and every one of our questions with knowledgable answers……he just knows his sheite! He reassured me that this is not a death sentence, and if Bill follows the treatment plan, he should be fine! No guarantees that it won’t happen again, but we have reduced the risk to almost nothing by having him on the Crestor, aspirin and Altace.

I wanted to jump up and kiss him full on the mouth!

But I didn’t, in case you were wondering.

I kissed Bill full on the mouth once we got to the car.

Later that night, Bill scooted across the bed to me, after I had already dozed off, and said “Thank you”.

I roused and said “What for?”

And he replied “For making me do that today……I feel so much better”.

Up until that point, I felt like I was moving through water. The weight of everything was exhausting. It was as if air was so heavy, it was an effort just to inhale it into my lungs.

It feels weightless now.

And I can breath again.