Here's the backstory!

For those of you who are interested, here is the story that led me to where I am right now. Dec. 2, 2008 I had a headache. It quickly became unbearable so I visited my general practitioner who, upon seeing how much pain I was in, sent me immediately to the emergency room. When I arrived, they were concerned that I had meningitis so I got a spinal tap. That came back clean so they gave me some migraine meds and hoped I would feel better soon. I didn't.

I was admitted to the neurology floor of the hospital and given narcotics to try to alleviate the pain. I was given massive amounts of these narcotics and after about 3 days, I had an overdose and "crashed". I woke up with doctors, nurses, LifeFlight nurses, and aides standing around me. I was apparently out for about a half hour. I don't remember anything about the 3 days leading up to that point.

Narcotics didn't seem to help the headache pain, they just made me so out of it that I didn't realize it hurt, so they decided to try something different... Nothing. That didn't work either. The headache was still at full force 6 days into my hospital stay. At that point, my GP decided to call in some help. A neurologist was called in to assess me and decided he could help. His plan was to administer DHE, an intravenous drug that can be taken as an out- or in-patient. I had my first half dose and I couldn't believe how much WORSE it made the pain. I would rather have given birth 10 times than have that kind of pain again! The neurologist told me that was normal as we had to "break through the pain". Nice of him to tell me that after the fact!! Anyway, I wasn't thrilled about it, but several more doses were essentially forced on me.

By Dec. 12, 2008 I was still in the hospital and the headache still hadn't subsided. I decided to go home. Both doctors agreed that it was a good idea and if necessary I could return for outpatient treatment. I had missed celebrating my birthday (12/8) with my kids and family and I didn't want to miss Christmas too. I was looking forward to decorating for the holidays when I got home and making cookies with my kids.

Well, plans got ruined again... Within 6 hours of arriving home, I was paralyzed on my right size. Terrified, I called to my husband, who was sleeping upstairs, and he came down to help me. He was sick and my kids were asleep, so we called my mom to take me back to the hospital. I can't even explain how scared I was.

By Dec. 15, 2009, I was entirely paralyzed, having seizures, aphasia, and essentially unconscious. I was taken by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospital. I was taken to the neurology floor, but immediately switched to the ICU.

The team of doctors wasn't sure what was happening. My arms and legs were paralyzed, I couldn't say the words I was trying to say, I was pulling out my IVs and tubes with out even realizing it. My paralysis was transient. It would switch from side to side. I started to feel like maybe I was crazy! It was terrible.

Eventually they figured out that I had an allergic reaction to the DHE. It caused my vertebral arteries to close, causing a stroke. I was 28 years old, and I had a stroke.

After 3 angiograms, an angioplasty, 2 stents in my left vertebral artery, and 1 bald head (from the radiation they use with the angios) I was finally able to move again. My right vertebral artery was completely occluded. They could not even open it with an angioplasty. They told me that it would never open again once it was closed like that. Luckily, the stents held open my left artery and I could function with only 1. Any brain damage that was done, would probably come back, since I was so young.

I spent 29 total days in the hospital, 9 of those in the ICU. I missed my birthday and Christmas, but being alive and healthy is the best gift I could have asked for!

I am back and functioning at basically the same level I was at before my stroke! The right artery, that was occluded, opened on it's own! They said that wouldn't happen, but with the help of LOTS of prayers, it did!

I went through several months of physical therapy and have now been released from that. I was an athlete through high school, but it's been about 10 years since I really worked out on a regular basis. I decided this was as good a time as any!

I am so excited to be on this journey, however rocky it may have started! I have learned not to take things for granted, especially my health, as you never know when you'll lose them! I am planning on running my first ever 5K October 11, 2009, less that 1 year after suffering a stroke. Who knows where I'll go from there...

Why not bounce back from a stroke and be better than before! I am literally running for my life!