Comments on: Peter David Has Stroke on Vacation; Some Thoughts on Stroke Recovery

By: Jeff C

Jeff C — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 04:05:15 +0000

I also had a stroke, although it was about six years ago. It wasn’t a big stroke, but at the time, I was certain I was going to die. I was alone, and it was in the summer time and I’m a teacher–which meant it would be a few days before anyone would realize they hadn’t seen me in awhile.

Ever since I read about this, I’ve been so much better about my medicine. I need to be very careful with it. My prayers are with Peter and his family.

Like Hal, I’m thankful for the reminders.

By: James Schee

James Schee — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 23:59:40 +0000

Thanks for sharing yours & KC’s story here. I need to get on top of this myself, but fear with no health insurance (ever since I was downsized by the USPS 3 years ago) I let things go at times. I’ve been lucky to this point but it is something to keep in my mind

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:02:00 +0000

Oh, Hal, I’m so sorry to hear! Glad that you seem to have everything under control, such as it is.

By: Hal Shipman

Hal Shipman — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:47:05 +0000

I’ve been following David’s and other recent strokes in the media as much as I can stand, as I just had a full-blown stroke 6 weeks ago (brain-bleed, rather than clot type).

I was extremely lucky in terms that I realized what it was instantly, Channing was home, and we were able to get admitted to the good hospital within 30 minutes of the first symptom (numbness on my right).

BTW – The rules here in Chicago are that an ambulance has to take to to the closest ER. Unfortunately, the ones here are absolutely horrible. For anything (gun shots, heart attacks, etc). So we drove to Northwestern Memorial Hospital rather than risk that. Good thing we did. The horror stories I heard from fellow Physical Therapy patients about their stroke care at the nearer ones were terrifying.

But, a big point is, many times the symptoms are not as clear. Being aware of the whole range and the subtleties you describe is HUGELY important. The faster you take action, the better the outcomes. Period.

Thanks for sharing and the reminders.

BTW – At this point, my main issue will be working with numbness on the right side which they say should fix itself within a year.