CHAPTER 4 - RELAPSE

 I would joke around saying that if anyone gets a headache, it proves that they have a head. But jokes apart, the headache was so severe that I blacked out, and apparently, I was smacking my head wildly. I know that I couldn't see, hear, or feel any touch. I cannot recall about my smell and taste sensation. Luckily my son, who was helping me in the kitchen at that time, helped me sit on a chair as I was losing my balance. After a few minutes, I came back to my senses and felt completely normal. The headache was gone; I seemed to have become alright in a jiffy and interestingly, found myself surrounded by my family. They were surprised that I recovered so quickly from this episode and suspected that something serious may have happened. There started a series of tests. My husband suggested that I lift a heavy object, and my son asked me to climb the stairs. They asked me to put my signature on a paper. I could do all of this with no problem.

We were convinced and happy that I could continue on with my routine as usual. Except my daughter! She somehow did not agree with us, that I was all OK. She argued that a severe headache of this sort would not just turn off. It should gradually weaken. She insisted that I go visit the doctor to get this checked out. I was in no mood to go to any doctor during COVID. 

On April 30th, 2020, the lockdown was lifted and things went back to normal. My daughter wouldn't spare me if I didn’t visit the doctor now. So, with a lot of reluctance, I agreed and we went to the senior doctor. I explained to him, that lately, I was progressing rapidly and amidst the progress I experienced a strange headache, to which he prescribed another MRI.

It was a STROKE. I was shell-shocked. The symptoms were not at all the same!!!!. The damn thing had manifested itself into something entirely different. In despair I questioned his diagnosis  “Doctor,I did not fall down, nor did I become unconscious like last time and I was able to lift heavy objects and climb stairs, and I can even write; after the head ache” I wanted him to be convinced that it was not a STROKE.

The damage was done!!!! The medicines given during my 1st stroke were incomplete, the diagnosis was partial. Was I the recipient of ‘Wrong Diagnosis’ for the second time? Leading to a second stroke ?

I was readmitted to the hospital in less than seven months. The doctor was extremely disappointed that I got diagnosed 10 days too late. Many imaging modalities like T2 Diffusion-MRI, Cerebral Angiography, and a Doppler ultrasound for my limbs, were employed to investigate this stroke. For better or for worse, the damage had occurred almost at the same area of my brain as the previous one. While I already knew how to handle the consequences of the stroke, the path to recovery was harder as the repeat stroke had caused a deep scar in that same region of the brain. The doctor warned me that given this situation, a complete recovery was a rare possibility. He was very honest and explained that a daily medication which included an anticoagulant and an antiplatelet was mandatory, failing which a third fatal stroke is imminent especially because my angiography shows a carotid web. Additionally, occupational therapy was my only way to regain motor abilities. He took utmost care to communicate the exact requirements I needed with the occupational therapist. This senior doctor gave me the right care. 

Hindsight is 2020 - I should have sought this doctor when my younger sister had pushed me. 

Thank god I met with the right doctor this time around. 


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