Debs

I was lifting a heavy piece of furniture I wanted to buy onto a dolly at a store. Pretty stupid, when you think about it. I should have asked for help with it.

I just found this forum and joined - my PM-NASAH was on 4 Nov. 2011. I was shopping for a piece of furniture that had just gone on sale, and when I lifted it onto the dolly to go to the cash I felt something give. I knew right away something wasn't right. As I waited in the line at the cash, I debated not going through with the purchase - after all, I'd waited months for the thing to go on sale! Finally, I got out of the line and just left everything and walked to my car. My next debate was wether or not to go straight to the hospital. I decided to go home first, as I didn't want to have my purse with me, so I drove 10km home. The I called a friend and asked him to come and take me to the hospital. He got to the house about a half hour later, and we had to go to his place first so he could eat something, as he'd just taken his medications on an empty stomach. Then he took me to the hospital. I got there about 3 hours after the event, and by this time I was in agony with the pain. It was another 5 hours before the docs did a scan and then boy, did things start moving at a faster pace! I ended up in the neuro ICU for 3 days, and on morphine for 4 days. I was released from the hospital after I could walk up the corridor and back with a walker - 10 days after the event. I was finally able to go home 3 months later when I could walk up my front steps again - 4 steps! It was 7 months before I began to feel somewhat normal, though I still have headaches and short-term memory loss. And trouble sleeping. And I get confused still at times - especially when people talk too rapidly to me. I still feel like I could go at any time - and I'm frankly not sure surviving did me any favors, but I'm going to go with it anyway and hope it makes more sense at some point. I've just put my house on the market, as I feel I'd be better off in a condo that's all on one level. Fortunately, I guess, I was unemployed when it happened, and am just now feeling like I might be able to look for work again. But I tire easily and have very little stamina. Or patience. And I'm on blood pressure meds now, which I wasn't before - my bp was 188/130 the day of the event, and they started me on them in the hospital. And they work. I also gave up coffee completely for the first 7 months after, but now I have 1 cup in the morning, just to feel human again. So, I think I'm not recovered yet, but it's slowly getting better. It's nice to have found this group. ~Debs