Stroke at 25 - Updates!

On November 15th I woke up when my husband did for work and went to the bathroom, but my body felt like it just wouldn't go. I finally got back in bed and told my husband, then without thinking much of it I drifted back to sleep I went to school and sat through class, then went to my next class where I took a written test. About half way through my hand got extremely exhausted and my perfect handwriting looked like scribbles. I kept erasing and rewriting, thinking that maybe I was just rushing, but it kept getting worse. I finally turned in my messy test very frustrated with myself. I then went to spend time with a friend and her kids and was overcome by more exhaustion. I went home and headed to bed pretty early that night. I woke up the next morning and my entire left side was weak. I felt weird and immediately became scared. I called my mom and told her how I was feeling, then my dad. I then called the doctor and was told that the symptoms I had were stroke symptoms and to get to the nearest ER. I called my husband and he was too far away to get me to the hospital fast enough, so I finally decided to text my boss who had some experience in health care. She dropped all that she was doing and came to my house. She had to help me put my socks and shoes on, as I couldn't even do that. She took my BP and then loaded me up in her car. My speech was slurred, and I had a facial droop.

Shortly after my husband arrived, and the tests on me had already begun. They set up a live video feed with a neurologist in Dallas, Texas to assess me. Really, a neurologist? That is when I really began to freak out. I was then told they were waiting for an open bed at the hospital in Springfield so they could transport me there to see better doctors.

A few hours later I arrived via ambulance to Mercy in Springfield, where I met my neurologist on the "Stroke Center". Wait what happened? Later that evening I had an MRI and an MRA (which by the way is the worst kind of torture... I had a melt down and the panic button was unhooked!) which confirmed the worst. I had an ischemic stroke. A full on stroke... at 25 years old.

The next day after tons of tests we found out that a vessel off of the carotid artery in my neck clotted and caused the stroke. This was due to an antibody found in my blood called "lupus anticoagulant". Before you make an assumption, this is not lupus... just the name of the antibody, however, I am being checked further for lupus.

I finally got a shower that Saturday morning, and that is when I realized how bad it was. I couldn't do it alone... my husband had to help me. I went from being a very independent person, to being dependent on my husband to help me bathe myself. After my shower I realized I couldn't fix my hair, or brush my teeth or put lotion on my legs. I became extremely discouraged, but I was reminded that my husband and family was there to do anything they could.

I began physical therapy in the hospital, and my leg got back to normal while I was in there, and my arm regained strength. My left hand just wouldn't cooperate. It did get better, but is still giving me lots of trouble... even now as I type this. I really type slow now... ugh.

So what have I learned from this? Don't take the simple things in life for granted. I got joy yesterday from just being able to fix my hair on my own.

I keep wondering... why me? I can't answer that yet, but maybe one day I can. I have aspirations of becoming a teacher and don't have much school left, but how could I do that with a bum hand? Now it is on to more therapy and prayers that I will be back to myself again.

My name is Emily. I am 25, and I am a stroke victim.









Don't let symptoms go unnoticed like I did. I did not think that a stroke was even a possibility at my age, and I wish I would have acted sooner.




UPDATE:
I have been diagnosed with a lupus disorder called antiphospholipid syndrome. This causes blood to clot more easily. When I got this diagnosis, I started doing some research and searched the terms "preeclampsia and antiphospholipid syndrome". Come to find out there have been studies done on the relation of these two. I feel as if I finally have some answers about the loss of my son... but I also have some angry feelings towards the doctors I was seeing at the time. Why was I not tested for this blood disorder while I was pregnant? Such tests were done regularly at that time, and if it had been done I would have found out about it then and not lost the one thing that is so precious to me. I would also most likely not have had a stroke... but all of those things happened and I just have to deal with it.

The future for me is a lifetime on blood thinners and regular doctor visits with my primary care physician, hematologist, rheumatologist, and neurologist. When it comes time to try for a child again I will be on injections to reduce the risk of clotting during pregnancy. I am terrified about what the future holds, but I am thankful that I have some answers and a little bit of peace.