prune picker

This is the blog of a prune picker. (Native born Californian) Retired oilfield. I am an old man. I blog a lot about my body and getting old. As I approach death life gets more interesting. More interesting is not good. I still drive. I attend sports, music, and civic events. I am writing my memoirs. I attend swim class three times a week. Some of my blogs might be interesting. A lot of my blogs are silly and trivial. None are very long.

Monday, May 13, 2013

My TIAs and my ability to drive.

On January 25 I passed out during difficulty swallowing. A spasm in my esophagus acted on my nervous system. This has happened several times before but I have alway been sitting down. I did not know that my head had hit the floor and so did not have any X-rays. Two months later, because I was acting strange, John took me to the emergency room. An X-ray found that my brain was bleeding. The next day,  March 25, 2013, I had an operation to stop the bleeding. In a week or two I stopped acting strange and could remember things. I still act strange at times but that is normal.

I had had a ministroke or TIA. A TIA or transient ischemic attack is an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain. I have had three more TIAs since the operation. I have not had a TIA for one month now. My TIAs last for 5 to 10 minutes. I am conscious and aware during the TIA. I do not talk correct and my right hand does not respond right. I am aware of both of these things and am aware of what is going on. The TIA soon is over.

I feel fully capable of driving my car. I propose to start on slow roads off the freeway and work up. I drove several miles today with absolutely no problem.

3 comments:

  1. You're making me very nervous.

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  2. me too...how can you drive if you have another one?

    ReplyDelete
  3. You do not pass out. You have warning of the TIA coming on. It is over in a few minutes. If I have another one it is review time. I am being super careful.

    ReplyDelete

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