"Starting in my early 20s, I experienced unexplained dizzy spells, often felt fatigued and had crippling anxiety that prevented me from falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping at all. One day, three years before I had my stroke, my brain felt so foggy that all I could do was curl up on my couch in the fetal position and cry for hours."
"Friday morning, I struggled to brush my teeth. That's when I, begrudgingly, went to the emergency room. I expected to be given an overpriced Tylenol and orders to avoid heavy lifting and rest. When the tests came back, the ER doctor began to tell me the results in Spanish, my native language. Un derrame cerebral. I translated it into literal English: My brain was spilling?"
She experienced unexplained dizzy spells, persistent fatigue, and crippling insomnia-related anxiety beginning in her early 20s. Episodes escalated to severe brain fog causing prolonged crying and withdrawal. Multiple physicians attributed symptoms to stress, autoimmune disease, or weight, without ordering brain imaging. A therapist diagnosed medical-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Weeks before her stroke she developed progressive motor and sensory problems across days, including shoulder pain, hand weakness, wrist pain, gait instability, and inability to brush her teeth. Emergency evaluation revealed a brain hemorrhage that likely had been ongoing for years, necessitating urgent surgical preparation.
Read at BuzzFeed
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