Hello, My name is Vincent. I'm 32 years old. Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I spend most of my days drawing, making collages, listening to / making music, playing with my two dogs, and wandering with my partner Mike. We currently live in Conway, Arkansas which is located 30 minutes outside of Little Rock (when traffic is at a minimum.)
On Wednesday April 17th while getting ready for work I had a stroke. Seems a bit permanent to write that out in front of me. It's hard to describe exactly what a stroke feels like. I had no warning signs that I could tell. From what I remember I was walking down the hall to gather my things when I began to get light headed, almost like my sugar levels were dropping from not eating. I dropped my phone on the floor ( I can't remember what hand it was in) and it slid underneath the island. I remember pausing and thinking about how foreign my body felt and I realized the flip flops I had been wearing were no longer on my feet but some ways behind me. My initial thoughts for some reason were to retrieve my phone, it was the only thing I could fully focus on and as I knelt down to look under the island my body gave out and I slammed against the tile shifting the island across the floor and exposing my phone. The dogs must've thought this was some sort of game because the next thing I remember they were on top of me, licking my face and barking at each other trying to fight for attention.
Once I was able to pull myself up off the floor I made my way into the den and onto the couch where I sent a text to Mike stating that I had fallen. I remember trying to sit up straight and not slump over which actually caused me to fall off of the couch and onto the coffee table. After what felt like hours wrestling with the table and the couch I finally managed to get myself back on the couch and in a laying down position. By now I noticed Mike had tried to call and text without me answering so he was having our friend Kelley come over to check on me and that I needed to open the garage door for her. This scenario presented a whole set of new problems. As I laid on the couch I tried to focus my mind on getting up and walking back down the hall to hit the garage door button. Once I was ready and stood up I lost my footing I fell face / shoulder first into a wall with lots of pictures hanging but got balanced and walked slowly down the hall, hit the button and made my way back, laid down and waited.
Once Kelley arrived she tried to give me some chocolate milk in case it was low sugar causing this to happen. After a couple of minutes and no change she called 911 and shortly after an ambulance arrived where I was taken to the emergency room in Conway. I saw Mike and Kelley when I was being pushed into the emergency room (Which was a huge relieve.) Once inside I was run through a series of tests. Ones that tested both sides of my body, tested my mind and awareness and it was determined that I was having a stroke.
One of the treatments for folks having a stroke is a drug that can be given within the first 3 hours called
TPA. This drug is designed to break up the clot and thin the blood....the side effect of this though is that if blood vessels are ruptured it can lead to death. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around saying "yes" give me that drug....split second decisions, life altering decisions. What if I had a ruptured vessel? The only thing I could conjure to say over and over was "I don't like that." I felt like a child looking for a parent to give me the right answer. A crowded room with faces I don't know staring at me, waiting and the faces I do know in desperation for me to be okay. I said yes and was given the drug.
Although the first part of the treatment was started, it wasn't the last. In the E.R. was a computer screen with a doctor on the other end from UAMS. The computers were set up with webcams....so she could see me and I could see her. After the administered the dose we waited briefly and went over the same physical and mental tests again to see if it was breaking up the clot. It was determined that I needed to have surgery at UAMS immediately. The next thing I knew a helicopter was on it's way to Conway to pick me up and take me to Little Rock. This is where things are almost completely random snapshots. I remember being loaded onto the helicopter, looking over and seeing Lake Conway, I remember waking up in surgery and grabbing towards my groin (that's where they went in to go to my brain and remove the clot), I remember having my arm taped down, my head taped down, I remember feeling something moving in my head...... then I woke up in ICU and saw Mike.
