10 years Banded and a survivor of a Hemorrhagic Stroke from a car accident

Today marks one year after the car accident that caused my brain to bleed and caused a hemorrhagic stroke. I forgot my password to my old account so I had to create a new one.

I was on my way to the dentist early that beautiful cool crisp September morning, and out of the blue, this car ran into me from the passenger side and totaled my brand new SUV, I had only had it for one month, I was in a rush because I was late for my dental appointment and I forgot to put on my seat belt, that why I believe I I was shook up so badly.

I was able to get out of my SUV to look at the damages, I then called my husband to come up because I was feeling nervous and confused, the lady who ran into me got out her car too and examined her car, a police was riding by and got out his car to help out, the paramedics was called, although I did not suffer any body injuries I felt very funny almost numb like.

The police asked me for my registration, and gave me a ticket, because the lady who hit me had the ride away, it is a dangerous intersection you have to look both ways after you stop at the stop sign, and I pulled out and did not see the woman coming down the road and she ran into me on the passenger side.

I was still feeling confused and I kept fumbling around my dashboard, then my husband came quickly because I had just left the house and we lived right around the corner where the accident happened.

The paramedics arrived and I continued to feel confused, the paramedics asked if I was okay and then suddenly; I remember losing the ability to say anything it scared me to death, I felt no pain I just could not communicate and I was standing up leaning on the driver side of my SUV and then I started to slide down from the driver seat.

That is when the paramedics started to ask me over and over if I was okay, and I could not answer that’s when they realized that something was dreadfully wrong. My whole body was going limp and I did not have a clue what was happening to me.

They rushed me to the nearest hospital and when I arrived in the ER and took my blood pressure it was 200/178, they rushed me to do a CT scan because I was having stroke symptoms and the doctor at the ER found I had bleeding on my brain I was hemorrhaging, and then they called a hospital that specializes in strokes (Hershey Medical center) at Penn state and I was life-lined by helicopter to Hershey Medical center in the event they had to operate on my brain to get the bleeding to stop.

I never lost consciousness during my ride in the helicopter all I can remember was the men who were in the helicopter was rubbing my head and telling me to hang in there and everything was going to be okay.

When I arrived at the hospital Hershey Medical center, it started going downhill from there, I started to get weaker and weaker but my vitals were stable but I felt miserable. I could not move my body or talk it was a very scary feeling.

I stayed in ICU for a week with all kinds of wires hooked to me and compression cuffs on my legs to prevent blood clots, my brain stopped bleeding on its own, they gave me a salt solution with a saline drip and that seemed to stop the bleeding and I did not require brain surgery to stop the bleeding.

I could not control my urine or bowels because my entire body weak, I could only move my left side of my body a little I was in a miserable situation, having to wear diapers and depending on nurses to change your diaper because I was too weak to sit up at this point a bit humiliating to say the least.

Once I was stabilized they transferred me out ICU, on a step down floor, this was one week later, and then the doctors said that I needed to start rehab as soon as possible.

My husband quit his job to care for me and I will always be ever be grateful to him, I would have been put in a nursing home if my husband went back to work because early in my recovery I needed around the clock care, and I know some people are not as lucky as me, that's why I''ll always be grateful for my husband and we actually are still newlyweds we've only been married for 4 years when I had the accident, we met online on match.com, he is definitely a keeper, it has not always been easy,...

I was transferred to another rehab closer to home and that was a mistake because my husband had to learn the hard way the rehab center was not the best for my condition, and I could make decisions for my self at the time.

My stay at the inpatient Rehab facility was not a pleasant one, the stroke deficits started to kick in full gear, my whole body was weak, I would get so tired quickly, and I could barely hold my head up, I needed help sitting up, I was so weak I could not even sit up on my own.

My sister flew up to be by my side from Atlanta, she stayed with me through my hospital stay and made sure I was treated good because I could not verbally communicate with the hospital staff, I had to communicate through sign language, thumbs up for yes and and thumbs down for no.

But I never lost my cognitive abilities I still could think clearly but could not speak, it's your worst nightmare of being trapped inside your body where you can't move and can't talk but you are aware of everything around you and understand people but can't move or respond.

About 1 month after my inpatient stay at Rehab, I was in speech therapy one day and my speech therapist told me to try to say the alphabet and I attempted as hard as I could and a sound came out and tears of joy came down my face, I started repeating A,B,C...and so on until I repeated the entire alphabet, and then she wanted me to start counting to one through ten...

Finally was I able to get my speech back and now I talk normally thank god I prayed every night to recover every thing I lost.

I did not know a stroke could be so painful, I was in so much pain at this time I had be given Percocet around the clock, I also had a brief bout of muscle spasms and it would hurt so bad I would scream out in pain they gave me balcofen for the spasms for the pain and I had to wear a pain patch on my right side to help ease the pain, it was mostly in my right shoulder my affected side, although when I was having the stroke I felt no pain, it’s just the after effects of stroke I felt pain, I guess the pain was coming from being paralyzed on my right side.

I went through this misery for several months, I was released from inpatient Rehab in a wheelchair at the time of my release I could barely stand up, I was walking with a quad cane with 4 prongs. My husband had to order me a hospital bed at home because I could not lay flat in a regular bed it was too painful.

I hear stroke recovery is very slow and the kind of stroke I had is the most deadly most people do not survive a brain hemorrhage, I was very lucky that the paramedics and my husband was right there when I was having the stroke.

But I was told if you are able to survive a brain bleed your chances of recovery is good and your chances of getting back all you lost are very good, I was told that people who have brain bleeds respond to therapy better.

I am no longer on blood pressure medication my blood pressure has stabilized it has consistently been running low 96/80, 91/70 and my primary care physician decided to take me off all together, and a low blood pressure can cause problems as a high blood pressure.

I only take one prescription drug now and my vitamins, so overall I am in good health and through out my ordeal my lap band stayed intact in fact I lost more weight, now I am at a healthy weight.   .

So the neurologist summed it up to the reason I had a brain bleed was because of the trauma and impact of the car accident and not wearing a seat belt caused a blood vessel to bust in my brain causing a hemorrhagic stroke.

Things I have accomplished:

Being able to put my shoes on, initially I was too weak to do this, but I still cannot tie my shoes, I wear sandals in the summer and wear tennis shoes when I am going to therapy.

Being able to dress myself, Initially I could not even put my clothes on, the only thing I cannot do now is put my bra on or shave myself or cut my finger nails, my husband now has to help with those tasks.

Being able to bath myself and stand up in the shower without using a shower chair, I use to be only able to stand no longer than 5 minutes at a time.

Initially when I had my stroke I could not move nothing on my right side, my stroke affected my left side of my brain , including my feet, ankle, I could not wiggle my toes on the right side, I could not move my right arm I could not even slide myself over in the bed, I had no movement in my feet, my entire right side was paralyzed, I could not even turn my head on the right side. Also my face was crooked.

The face droop cleared up in about 2 weeks after I had my stroke and It took about a month after I had my stroke to get movement back in my right leg and feet, now I can move my feet freely and wiggle all my toes after intense physical therapy.

Now I am able to move my head to right and left, little things keep improving.

Being able to cook for myself, I can cook most foods and I prepare my own my breakfast every morning.

I can wash my hair, brush my teeth and put on my makeup with one hand actually I have got very good at it.

I can help around the house now I can clean the bathrooms now and vacuum with one arm, sometimes I will use my weak arm to help sweep the floor. I could not do, especially in the first few months.

I use to have a hard time getting out of chairs, now I am even able to get out of low chairs.

I am able to walk up and down stairs.

I can talk more clearly now, before I use to talk with a delay between my sentences, now I talk normal.

I can slowly open and close my hand on my affected side I can raise my arm only to my waist level.

I can sleep in a regular bed now, before my hip, and lower back on my affected weak side made it impossible for me to lie flat without severe pain, and my doctor ordered a hospital bed at home where I could adjust the head of the bed and sleep sitting up.

I can now use my arm bike that my husband bought for me last Christmas, I was not strong enough and could not grip the peddles, now I am able to peddle my weak arm without pain, and that is a very big accomplishment because it use to very painful when I tried to use the arm bike and also I was not strong enough to grip the handle, now I can grip the peddle with no problem.

The only deficit I have now after a year is my right arm/hand is still weak, I have some movement in hand/fingers and I am not going to give up on my right arm yet, the next goal will be driving again.

I notice very small changes every day of things I can do, I use to take simple things like putting on my clothes and taking a bath or shower, driving my car for granted, being able to talk and think.

It reminds me that our bodies is nothing but a machine controlled by our brain and the brain send signals to our arms and legs to function and move and when you lose the capability to move your body and talk you are considered brain dead and I have literally came back from the dead. It was not my time to go.

I have recovered enough that my husband is taking me with him on a vacation to Monterrey, California next week he inherited some money from his aunt enough to buy a restaurant, we will be moving to the Atlanta area in October where the weather is warmer the cold weather makes my joints very stiff.   

I had my last MRI and my neurologist said that I did not show any signs of a hematoma from the bleeding and I should not have to worry about another stroke ever again--- at least a brain bleed.

Naomi I remember you well from before and while we will never agree on the band I am so very sorry you have had to go thru this horrible time. It does sound like it has turned you into a kinder more caring person than you were before so for that I am thankful. It is that same hard headedness of yours that most likely gave you the strength to overcome so much of the damage done by the stroke.

I am honestly very happy that you have survived the stroke and accident and hope that the rest of your life is nothing short of a full recovery. Here's hoping your move and opening of a restaurant is a wonderful new life for you and your hubby. I wish you all the very best!

Thank you for your support Hislady...you are right I use to be a bit overzealous about the band...remember I had a Lap Band complication too...and had to replace it with the newer band, because the older bands were known for causing complications....but I've always supported those who had complications, my frustration was with band bashing and the destruction of the Lap Band Forum.

It use to be a place where we could share our accomplishments, frustrations with the band and complications...but it turned into a hate forum and anybody that did like their band no longer posted to this forum...creating a ghost town on this once heavily active board.

I know that some people had legitimate complications...it's well documented the dangers of a too tight band and the symptoms...but yet people use to ignore the signs until it's too late....

The Lap Band is not for everyone...in fact I do not personally recommend it...it's requires the most discipline of all the surgeries...my surgeon explained this to me over 10 years ago...that's why I hit the ground running when I got my band placed.. if I wanted to lose any weight....if you don't diet and exercise along with the band you won't lose one pound...many surgeons did not inform and educate patients at the time the band was most popular...they did not inform their patients on how the lap band was suppose to work by diet and exercise...they know that if they told the patient upfront how the band REALLY worked they would lose sales.

Instead many doctors just tightened up the band so tight until the patient could barely eat...and sadly this is how many lost their weight if they were disciplined enough to drink protein drinks as there main source of food ...and some did not lose much weight with this approach because many patients resorted to junk and soft foods ....but these methods produced complications... avoidable complications....I am just very sad that so many people lost their bands this way.... and I use to warn them but I got bashed for warning...  

On a lighter note ... I did not require an unfill through out my stroke ordeal because I was properly restricted and my Lap Band stayed intact...and I ever have to get my band removed for any reason I will never bash the band ...Again I thank you for supporting me.       

I am so glad you are doing well, Naomi! :)