Wednesday, June 17, 2009

You won't believe me....

...but I had a stroke. On March 28. In Venice. It's true! I had no previous health conditions, but I had something called a Vertebral Artery Dissection, which is the leading cause of strokes in young people. Basically, it is a tear in the lining of a vertebral artery (you have two of them running up the back of your neck). It causes a clot to form, and that clot can go to your brain a cause a stroke. I spent a month in the hospital, and for a good part of that time I could not speak, eat, sit up, walk, or even turn over. It was a traumatic and scary experience. My mother came over and spent a month in Venice, and with the help of physical and speech therapy I started to get better. On May 4 I came back to America, both because I wanted to go home and also because I had a lot of pressure from my family. I have since been continuing with rehab, and would say that I am at 95%.

This is the very short version, to update my blog. I thought many times of how I had unwillingly abandoned my blog a second time, and imagined all of the entires that I wanted to write and how I could possibly explain everything that has happened. I hope to be able to cover everything, and I am excited to get back to my blog.

I have had many life changes in the last three months, including having to face the decision of which continent I will be living on in the near future. I am in Washington DC right now, but still have my apartment in Venice. I'm a little freaked out by everything that has been going on, but I'm going to try and hash our some of my impending decisions on the blog!

I missed you, blog!

7 comments:

Rosa said...

Oh my gosh, isn't it scary when life takes a turn like that. Get your priorities in order, you've been given a second chance. Look after yourself, hugs xxx

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry to hear that! Take care of yourself and hope all goes well.
-romerican

Annika said...

oh god Nancy, I am so sorry but also so relieved to hear that you're ok! It is inevitable to change after being faced with your own mortality like that, you have to re-evaluate your life and find that new things may seem important than before. In a way I think it's good to get shocked and be given a second chance like you and I both have now - it's not fun but it can be life altering and if we choose to learn and grow from it it's good.
I hope your recovery keeps going well and that you won't have to deal with anything like this ever again! *hugs*

Jill said...

Oh Nancy, I am so sorry to hear what you have been through. I am thinking about you and sending healing vibes your way, both for your physical condition and your heart. Take your time making big decisions and please take care of yourself!

Nancy - Girl in Giro said...

Thanks everybody, it has been a difficult time, but I am coming around quickly, thank goodness!

Jessica said...

Oh my gosh! I was wondering where you were, I hadn't seen an update in awhile! I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you but I am so glad you are doing better! I hope you continue to blog :)

Emmina said...

No way!! Oh my god that's awful - so sorry to hear it.... It must have been terrifying for you. Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery - I had wondered where you'd got to! Take care