So I had a Stroke...

I often wondered how I would feel if one of the stories I had worked on could not be posted online and shared. After more than fifty tales about local doctors, I found out. It did not feel good. I was deflated. But as I read the story again I realized that simply working through it was a gift. It brought back the warm childhood memory of sitting on a plain wooden bench in complete silence during an hour-long Quaker Meeting for Worship at the Frankford Friends School in Northeast Philadelphia.

The quiet meditative experience fit with who I wanted to be; that is, someone who tried to do good. And I recalled that the gathering for lunch after worship was special. It felt as if I was offered a seat at the United Nations as I (white and Jewish from a heavily Jewish neighborhood) shared a meal with Asian, Italian, and African-American kids from other parts of the city. 

I prefer to sit in silence in a synagogue, temple, church, or congregation service, and now I know why. (I simply ignore my husband when he points to the proper line in the prayer book.)

But there is more. While still working on the last bit of the (now-unpublished) story not quite two weeks ago I had a stroke. Earlier in the day I had trouble reading and had mild head pain. These vague symptoms passed, but I awoke in the middle of the night with a start. I had a severe headache, intense nausea, odd confusion, and trouble speaking. What came out of my mouth was pure gibberish, total nonsense. Naturally, my neurologist-husband quickly helped me dress. 

Within five minutes, and as light snow began to fall, we were off to the ER. The stat CT showed a round 2 cm left posterior brain hemorrhage.  Off to the ICU, an experience I don’t really recall (though they say I was a hoot). A transfer to Tower 3 was made in the late morning and over the next hours, a few words began to come out right. 

The follow-up CT late that evening was stable, my blood pressure finally came down by the next morning, and I left the hospital barely 29 hours after arrival. My speech miraculously returned to normal during the day and I was back to the gym the next day. I am still tired, but ready (and grateful) to be able to begin work on another story, with an interview tomorrow afternoon.

Anita 01/23/25