As I sat with Dana, ready to be seen, my mind was taking part in a slideshow of my life—previous, completely happy recollections cycled by means of my thoughts. It was like I used to be watching myself from above. (I used to be so out of it.) On the similar time, I used to be actually anxious about my face trying totally different—I didn’t have any drooping, however my mouth was fully numb. I assumed perhaps I’d had a seizure from having a extremely excessive fever and began to fret I’d die. Stroke was not on my thoughts in any respect.

I had an EKG and did X-rays and a bunch of blood work. The nurses informed me I wanted to get an MRI of my head and neck, however I needed to wait till the machine was out there. I used to be given anti-anxiety drugs to assist me loosen up, since I used to be fairly freaked out at this level, and informed Dana she might depart because it was the nighttime. A bit later, I acquired the MRI—the one factor I bear in mind is being requested if I wished to hearken to music throughout the process (I requested Taylor Swift)—and after, I used to be taken to my very own room.

Whereas all this was occurring, I nonetheless felt so sick—I had a nasty fever and the chills. My headache was additionally getting worse. I hadn’t regained feeling in the correct aspect of my physique, nevertheless it was barely bettering. My face was nonetheless numb and I couldn’t use my hand however, by leaning on the wall, I might put stress on my proper leg and stroll to the lavatory.

After I awakened from napping for a number of hours, I acquired tremendous upset—I’d began to return to and notice what occurred. It additionally involved me that I had been on the ER for therefore lengthy, and nobody had informed me something about what was mistaken. I known as my pal Ashley, who lives in New York Metropolis, and informed her what I skilled. I acquired actually emotional, and felt so scared and alone. She hopped in her automobile and began driving as much as Windfall to be with me.

Round 10 a.m. a brand new physician got here in. I known as my mother to hear in as a result of I knew I wouldn’t have the ability to bear in mind all the pieces. He reviewed my take a look at outcomes and stated he consulted with the in a single day docs, who wished to ship me house. To them, all of my take a look at outcomes appeared comparatively regular. They did not know what occurred, and since I used to be so younger, they thought I’d probably had a panic assault. However this new physician stated one thing wasn’t including up. He recognized a small harm within the artery in my neck, together with a tiny abnormality in my mind within the MRI scans.

He requested if I’d just lately skilled any head trauma. I informed him was concerned in a really minor automobile accident six months in the past, and one other one in 2018, after I was rear-ended in visitors. On the time, the nurse I used to be handled by believed I had whiplash and a gentle concussion, however that, total, I used to be okay. Primarily based on the imaging outcomes and the 2 automobile accidents, my physician suspected I had a vertebral artery dissection (VAD) at the back of my neck—principally, an artery at the back of my neck had a tear—and that prompted a blood clot that traveled to my mind and prompted a stroke. VAD is likely one of the predominant causes of strokes in youthful folks—particularly athletes who’re extra vulnerable to injuring their head or neck. He gave me low-dose aspirin and informed me to take that day by day till a follow-up appointment with a neurologist in six weeks. That felt like a extremely very long time to me, nevertheless it’s commonplace protocol for monitoring stroke survivors.