Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) a.k.a. Traitor in Action

Nearly two years ago at about 10pm in the evening, I received a call from my pop (dad). He sounded very anxious and scared. It was an emergency call for my mom. My pop informed me that she suddenly lost her consciousness. She is known to be hypertensive for quite some time and admittedly not that religious to her maintenance medications.

I calmed down my pop and instructed him to bring mom to the nearest hospital so that her condition would be monitored. Indeed her blood pressure was horribly high at that time. When I get to talk to my cousin-in-law who was also there when she collapsed, she insisted that she really saw my mom jerked or had seizure. By that information alone, I can already sense that there is something wrong going on in her brain.

I hurried to the hospital and talked to her doctor. He said that my mom is now stable and told me that she only had a hypoglycemic attack because according to the laboratory results her blood sugar is very low. During her first night, she can't seem to sleep and keeps on slapping her left cheek, she said she can't feel anything on her left arm up to her left cheek. When I went near her, I observed that her left pupil is dilated, and when I checked her right eye it was on it's normal size. I immediately pressed the emergency buzzer and called the attention of the nurses on duty.

My mom's face appeared asymmetrical and can no longer talk properly. The resident doctor on duty arrived in the room and ordered some emergency medications. Since then, I wasn't able to sleep. There has been a lot things running inside my mind. The situation wasn't just a simple hyoglycemic attack because there is no way it can lead into scenarios like those. It's TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) or STROKE! I'm 100% sure on that and she should be transferred to a bigger hospital if that's the case. If it isn't going to be treated immediately, worst things would surely happen.

TIA or Transient Ischemic Attack is a sudden onset of a focal neurologic symptom and/or sign lasting less than 24 hours, presumably brought on by a transient decrease in blood supply, which rendered the brain ischemic in the area producing the symptom. In layman's term, there has been a part of our brain that has been receiving a less amount of blood causing a disruption on its assigned function.

When I told the doctor that my mom had a seizure before she collapsed, he also agreed to my theory that she indeed is having TIA. He ordered for a CT Scan but unfortunately the hospital that we were in didn't have it. I decided right then there to transfer my mom to the city and admitted her in a bigger hospital wherein all that she needs can be provided.

I admit it caused us a lot of money but I didn't care. The fact that we were able to save my mom from being totally physically disabled was already a great blessing. 

Since then, we had been very conscious in her diet and she has been religious in her maintenance medications. However, at this time that I thought everything is going fine, I received another emergency phone call. This time, it's not a "loss-of-consciousness" scenario but a different situation. My pop told me that my mom can no longer talk which is like her tongue isn't moving. Oh my! it's another TIA, I'm 100% sure of it for the second time. Indeed my feeling is correct. Another TIA and another scary situation for us. Good thing we were able to detect the symptoms early and was able to bring her to the hospital for treatment. 

She's now out of danger but anytime this traitor disease will get back on us. For the second time around, we should tighten our defenses. Medications should be followed religiously and diet should be in moderation. -niceurdaneta-