by Pat Bruno

Created on: July 12, 2008

Having a stroke is a catastrophic, life-changing event for both the affected individual and, perhaps even more so, for their immediate family. While I have no formal medical training, I believe that generally speaking, there are two basic types of stroke: ischemic (a clot) and hemorrhagic (a bleed). I prefer to categorize these types as disastrous and cataclysmic. I am a survivor of the hemorrhagic (the rarer and more serious of the two) variety. I was told that I was "lucky" to survive this type of stroke. Since the nature of not surviving is presently unknown, I must accept this evaluation, though half my body was paralyzed, and remains so to this day.

I think that the first reaction of comprehending this kind of event is shock and disbelief. This is followed by questioning how long it will take to "fix" the problem. Today, I think most people tend to consider illnesses that way. Therein lays the rub. A stroke is not the kind of illness that gets "fixed". Undergoing surgery, getting bed rest, and taking medications do not make you "well". This is a difficult concept to grasp. Looking back, I can now see how nave and ill-informed I was. Now, unfortunately, I'm an expert on the subject (from the patient's point of view). Once brain cells die, they do not regenerate. Regaining bodily functions is a result of the brain re-routing neuro pathways in order to create new channels to non working muscles. I don't think anyone really knows how this happens or how to replicate the process.

The details of my recovery are difficult or impossible for me to recollect. My stay in the intensive care unit lasted approximately three weeks, during which time I was mostly unconscious (though technically not in a coma). Aside from having a hole drilled in my head to help relieve the pressure and fluids from my swollen brain, I had contracted meningitis, pneumonia, and a staff infection. The prospects of my awakening at all were questionable. Recovery of any kind was in doubt.

Since I was on a business trip when my stroke occurred, I was in a hospital that was 400 miles away from home. I can only imagine my wife's reaction to the phone call she received from them. Within two hours she was on a plane heading for a town she had never been to before. The facts of those initial days of recovery were provided by my wife and my daughter, who kept a diary of events. When I finally woke up, I could not even hold my head up. Half my body was paralyzed. However, I could speak normally. I considered

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