So: I'm home.

Some of you already know, I'm here to give the full story so there are no worries.

I left work by ambulance Thursday morning right after break. I couldn't speak, couldn't walk, my pulse was wildly different between both arms, and I had an irregular heartbeat. They took me to Sunrise Hospital under "Code 100" which ensured I got proper care. It turns out I had a stroke. A mild one, yes, but still: it scared the crap out of me. The ambulance driver gave me the "This isn't a joke, you can die from this" talk. That, after he struggled to figure out my cell phone; I'd programmed it in French (for practice and so it would be less likely stolen) and he couldn't find my phone's internal phone book.

Very luckily, the neuroscience team worked quickily and that helped to reverse the effects. I was speaking some and had regained alot of the strength on my left side after 10 hours. After 24 hours I was mostly back to normal. Some stuttering when I'm excited and some words don't come like they should but for the most part, aside from extreme fatigue, I'm good.

Interesting thing: the medical director of the stroke unit did a "bubble" test on me, which takes a while to explain but anyway, it confirmed his suspicions of "patent foramen ovale" which basically means I have some kind of opening or hole between the atria in my heart. Mix that with a clotting problem and there you have it: instant fun.

Good news is, all that finally convinced the Hematology Board to put me on Coumadin. I know there are plenty of issues with adjusting and I'll have to get an INR log and things like that but I finally feel like I'm being taken seriously now. I'm just happy it wasn't more devastating. It could have been so much worse.

So now, I'm being weaned off the heparin as my body learns to accomodate the Coumadin; so for the next 6 days I have to get stomach injections. The nurse on my unit tried to harpoon me and the bruise is immense but at the shot clinic today it was better. I just hope I won't have problems at work. Injections and venous lab draws every day? They won't like that. A little worried there.

And on top of that, this happened on Tannah's and my 11th anniversary. Spending it on the telemetry unit just sucked. But again: it could have been worse. I have to remember the small blessings, too.