Meghan Follow Up – 3 days later
This is a follow-up to Philippe’s post “Meghan’s Stroke (of luck)” from me, Meghan. I am still reeling from the experience. In a 2-hour window, my brain function was severely deteriorated and then fully restored. As the drug tPA coursed through my arteries, busting-up the blood clots in my brain, I went from being essentially mute to fully articulate in a few short minutes. As my 3-yr-old daughter says “It was going to be the worst day, but now it’s the best!”.
This next paragraph is going to read a little bit like an Oscar speech, so brace yourself. To say that I am grateful to Philippe and his instincts, is an understatement. TPA is only effective within 3 hours of “last seen normal”. I cannot underscore enough how much time is of the essence when someone is having a stroke. I am grateful to the proximity of YiY to a stroke center (!), to the availability of effective drugs, to the expertise of doctors, to my community of yogis and the Mama-Dream-Team who texted and emailed messages of support, visited me with jokes and treats, who babysat my kids and cooked for my family. The silver lining to a catastrophe such as this is that you realize how much you are loved and supported. I am teary-eyed and overcome as I type.
Here’s the situation now. Once a person has a stroke they are much more likely to have a secondary stroke. So, I am on blood-thinning medicine and statins for the rest of my life. The reason I developed a blood clot in the first place is unclear and the doctors are troubleshooting. I will wear a heart monitor for a month to determine if I have an irregular heart beat that could be causing clotting. I will go for a mammogram to search for cancer which could also be the source of clotting. I need to double-down on B-12 vitamins and take on a Mediterranean diet. I will meet with a cardiologist to discuss my PFO. That’s the little hole that separates the two halves of my heart– which is a totally normal thing so don’t make me feel weird about it! They might surgically close it, but it sounds like not.
From my minimal, but ongoing research, the articles linking yoga to stroke refer to arterial dissection of the carotid artery (the arteries on either side of the neck that feed the brain). This was not the case for me. My stroke was not related to strain or injury in the neck. In fact, the neurologist at Kaiser took the time to painstakingly go through each of my many CT imaging scans with me so that we could be certain that I didn’t have any tears in the arteries of my neck.
Ipso facto, there is no restriction on my activities. Expect to see me cursing the bulky pendant of my heart monitor as I sun salute by your side.
Glad to hear that you are doing well, Meghan. Thanks for the update. We wish you a complete recovery.
So glad to hear from you Meghan, thank you for the update. Wishing you a full recovery and the best of health moving forward. You’re community is here for you and your family every step of the way. So much love to you. ?
Meghan, it was a blessing that you were given the help you needed! I hope you can continue to get back to your normal ways, and learn to appreciate the Mediterranean diet. I’m going to look it up again and see if we can move more in that direction (I’ll have to eat less cereal I’m sure!). Your story has given me a lot more passion for teaching my PE students about the risks and reactions to heart attacks and stroke. Your scare is too close to home for me! So happy for you, Andrew and the girls that you are okay! Lots of love from Cobourg!
Justin
Check out these tips to get started on the Mediterranean Diet: https://www.qunol.com/blogs/blog/basics-of-the-mediterranean-diet?utm_source=respond&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=med-diet-basics
Thank you for posting an update Meghan and happy to read that you are feeling better. All the best in your troubleshooting efforts and getting back to your life 🙂 Take care
Tears of concern and relief flowing over here – even with this being the 3rd time reading this. I am so relieved that everything fell into place for you, Meghan. Phillipe following you out to the lobby and knowing what to do, you arriving at the hospital early enough to get the tPA going ASAP. Sending love and prayers to you, your family, and the YiY community.
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha! Amazing to hear this story. And such fabulous news about the extraordinary recovery. Wow!
At some point, perhaps after all the dust settles, I would love to connect as I went through a different, yet also strikingly similar stroke 10 years ago.
Peace. And pranams and gratitude to all the healing forces, largely vis-alà-vis people, in our world! Om + peace.
so glad you are okay. sending all my love, and many prayers for you and your family.