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for the rent. Then I walked the rest of the way to the office.

I turned on the computers in our office, with my left hand. I was getting frightened. I sat down to see if I could take down the voicemails. I couldn't punch the buttons on the telephone. I couldn't use a pen or a pencil. I couldn't write.

Just at that moment, my co-worker arrived for work.

Happy and smiling, she hung her coat and asked, "How was your weekend?"

I took a deep breath. I just looked at her for a moment.

"I think I've had a stroke," I said.

"I'm calling 9*1*1". She picked up her phone and paused.

I didn't argue.

It was only moments and the EMTs were all around me. I could see my co-workers in the background.

Lots of questions, lots of details, the moments were blurry and rushed.

I got myself on the gurney. They rushed me down the elevator and into the back of the ambulance. It was still early morning so no one was on the street.

The EMT was talking as I listened to the sirens. We made our way the two or three blocks to Sutter Hospital.

His voice got louder.

"I said 287 over 175".

He sounded frightened.

So was I.

"I should be dead," I thought to myself.

I thought of my husband and all that we'd shared. I silently declared to my Father in Heaven,

"Okay, I'll leave peacefully, if that's what you want. But, please, please let my husband keep his quality of life."

Due to my lack of concern for my own health and especially having lived with uncontrolled high blood pressure for many years, I suffered the consequences.

The consequence was a lacunar infarct.

A lacunar infarct is small deep infarct that accounts for about a quarter of all ischemic strokes. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

" These infarcts have commonly been regarded as benign vascular lesions with a favorable long-term prognosis. However, recent studies have shown that this is only the case early in the disease course. A few years after infarct, there is an increased risk of death, mainly from cardiovascular causes. The risk of recurrent stroke after lacunar infarct is similar to that for most other types of stroke, and patients have an increased risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia."

It is a miracle to be alive. It is even more surprising to be able to walk, talk and write again.

Learn more about this author, Sharon Cohen.
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