Ouch! I had a stroke.

 This happened in early February.

I knew something was wrong the night before. 

From inside my head I could hear my blood pumping hard. I ignored it for awhile but then took my blood pressure and it was way high.

I went down the road to an immediate care office. They told me to go to the emergency room so I did. 

I spent about three hours there and they gave me blood pressure lowering drugs. I got home about 3am and went to bed.

I don't remember much about the next morning other than being in a dream-like state.

I fed the cat, got dressed, then not conscious of much else.

Lonnie was out of town for the week but I had accidentally called the Sasquatch when looking up his number at the immediate care center and had told him I was going to the emergency room.

It's a good thing I called him because he started checking on me that morning of the stroke. First texting, then phoning, but got no answer, so he came over and found I wasn't acting right or speaking  clearly.

He called for an ambulance, then came to the hospital with me.

So, the doctor there said that my blood thinner medicine was not effective and had allowed clots to form that caused the stroke.

NM

I was in the hospital for a week, with more testing and adjusting medicine dosages.

The Sasquatch stayed with me overnight the first day, then came every day afterward and helped me get my brain working better by playing cards and  so forth.

The stroke was in my left brain so my right side was affected. Facial droop and weak hand.  At first my right leg was weak but it recovered quickly after a little walking.

My doctor showed me this imaging view when I went for my follow up visit. The light colored area is the stroke area.

A view from a higher level...

I've been very fortunate to have recovered most of my hand strength and movement. My handwriting is much sloppier though.

My face is much better but not exactly as it was before. Still some trouble with word pronunciation especially if I'm trying to talk faster.

Naps and a lot of good sleep is needed.

It's been strange noticing some differences in my mental abilities. 

At first, so many small tasks seemed a little difficult, but mainly just unusual.

It's hard to describe but sort of like...things that were easy and routine,  now required more thinking and focus to accomplish.

But overall, my quality of life isn't changed. I feel so fortunate.