MysterYvil
Mr. Bad Example
In April of this year I blew out my carotid artery (technically, I suffered "a dissection of the carotid artery), which resulted in five stroke events. Luckily, I was having lunch with Mrs. at the time of the strokes; she immediately called 911, and the first responders were prompt in arriving and dead-on with their assessment.
[I'm 46, with good blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and BMI, and a four-year record of them. The Kaiser docs were very surprised. Talk about no longer being "ten feet tall and bulletproof!"]
Spent four days in ICU and seven as an inpatient. The immediate effects were slackness/loss of control of the right side of my face, loss of use of my left arm from the shoulder down (I could feel stimuli, but had no control), holes in my long- and short-term memory, and a difficulty in forming new short-term memories.
The facial slackness went away in the first two days, without a conscious effort on my part. I still occasionally have hitches, but they are momentary at worst.
The loss of use of my left arm was a real concern; I'm not ready to step back to a Helix, and the DN-01 just ain't my style. I spent the first day in the hospital concentrating on my left arm, and by the end of the day I could twitch my fingers. I whined until they sent me a physical therapist- he made me a squeeze-ball of surgical gloves and medical tape, which I used throughout my hospital stay, and still have today.
On Day Three, a good friend of mine brought me a keyboard (I've been a data-grind for almost twenty years). It was the opinion of my second PT professional that doing tasks my brain was acquainted with would help with my recovery, help my brain forge new pathways to usual tasks. She was very right, in my case- I worked that keyboard assiduously, and by Day Six was able to type without conscious thought.
To this day, though, memory is still dodgy. I've been working crossword puzzles and re-reading old books to work that out. It seems to be helping, but I still have to think hard about getting from Point A to Point B, in my hometown and in SF, both of which I had previously owned in my mind.
I was discharged on Easter Sunday, after 11 days in the hospital. Directed to avoid head injuries (therefore, no riding), "heavy" physical activity (therefore, no workouts), and put on 7.5mg/5.0mg Warfarin (a blood thinner), and 60mg Simvistatin (a cholesterol med, to keep things from sticking).
The "no head injuries" directive kept me out of the saddle for six months.
While on the meds I developed fibromyalgia, much to my chagrin. Tingling and random pains...
In mid-October, I had a follow-up CT-Angio test, which determined that my carotid was a healed as it was ever going to get. The docs directed me to leave off the meds, and said I could resume riding after a week.
Exactly one week after I was back on my moto. I wanted to ride forever, but riding takes better shape than what I was in... And the first small-group ride I did, a mere two hours, left me totally shagged out.
Six months of lazing about and not working out had robbed me of the basic strength to ride, and had dulled my reflexes immensely.
Long (TL,dr) story short, I'm still riding as cautiously as a newbie, and I'm still taking it slow and steady. I can get to and from work, but I ain't yet back up to Friday Night standards.
But I will be! :teeth
[I'm 46, with good blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and BMI, and a four-year record of them. The Kaiser docs were very surprised. Talk about no longer being "ten feet tall and bulletproof!"]
Spent four days in ICU and seven as an inpatient. The immediate effects were slackness/loss of control of the right side of my face, loss of use of my left arm from the shoulder down (I could feel stimuli, but had no control), holes in my long- and short-term memory, and a difficulty in forming new short-term memories.
The facial slackness went away in the first two days, without a conscious effort on my part. I still occasionally have hitches, but they are momentary at worst.
The loss of use of my left arm was a real concern; I'm not ready to step back to a Helix, and the DN-01 just ain't my style. I spent the first day in the hospital concentrating on my left arm, and by the end of the day I could twitch my fingers. I whined until they sent me a physical therapist- he made me a squeeze-ball of surgical gloves and medical tape, which I used throughout my hospital stay, and still have today.
On Day Three, a good friend of mine brought me a keyboard (I've been a data-grind for almost twenty years). It was the opinion of my second PT professional that doing tasks my brain was acquainted with would help with my recovery, help my brain forge new pathways to usual tasks. She was very right, in my case- I worked that keyboard assiduously, and by Day Six was able to type without conscious thought.
To this day, though, memory is still dodgy. I've been working crossword puzzles and re-reading old books to work that out. It seems to be helping, but I still have to think hard about getting from Point A to Point B, in my hometown and in SF, both of which I had previously owned in my mind.
I was discharged on Easter Sunday, after 11 days in the hospital. Directed to avoid head injuries (therefore, no riding), "heavy" physical activity (therefore, no workouts), and put on 7.5mg/5.0mg Warfarin (a blood thinner), and 60mg Simvistatin (a cholesterol med, to keep things from sticking).
The "no head injuries" directive kept me out of the saddle for six months.
While on the meds I developed fibromyalgia, much to my chagrin. Tingling and random pains...
In mid-October, I had a follow-up CT-Angio test, which determined that my carotid was a healed as it was ever going to get. The docs directed me to leave off the meds, and said I could resume riding after a week.
Exactly one week after I was back on my moto. I wanted to ride forever, but riding takes better shape than what I was in... And the first small-group ride I did, a mere two hours, left me totally shagged out.
Six months of lazing about and not working out had robbed me of the basic strength to ride, and had dulled my reflexes immensely.
Long (TL,dr) story short, I'm still riding as cautiously as a newbie, and I'm still taking it slow and steady. I can get to and from work, but I ain't yet back up to Friday Night standards.
But I will be! :teeth
