I had a TIA

TIA in Wikipedia

I had the first one of these back in the Nineties, when I was working in Silicon Valley. I was running down a hill in a Wilderness area, when my legs stopped working. Bam! down I went. I threw up my arms to protect my face, but they got badly scratched, and I broke my glasses.

A short while later however, I got to my feet and walked to the trail head, where a fire engine was waiting for me. They gave my some oxygen, and called an ambulance. When the ambulance got to the hospital, I could no longer speak, only make strange noises. I passed out, and and when I woke up, early the next morning, I had my arms tied down to a hospital bed, a catheter was inserted in my penis, and I was connected to a lot of instruments, that were monitoring my condition.

Was I frustrated! Because I could not explain to myself what had happened to me - I learned, right then - that you need language to think. But in a couple hours, or so, I recovered, could function normally, and I was released from the hospital.

After that, when I was hiking, I could feel the loss of control of my legs beginning - but could slow down, and become normal again. But this gradual onset did not continue. And I would lose control of my legs without warning. But quickly regain control again.

When I moved to Costa Rica in 2001, I would sometimes get them, but they would last for longer. And they would have to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. When these happened, the people seeing them, would be terrified by my loss of control. They didn't happen very often, maybe once every several months.

The last time, yesterday, I was riding my bicycle, not far from home, on a Sunday. I ended up on my back, looking up at a lovely sky, with a crowd of people around me. Two of these were Americans living in Orosi. One of them took my bicycle to the Police station, where I could get it later. The other one, Ron, agreed to follow the ambulance, to the hospital in Cartago, an hour's drive away!

Off I went, in the ambulance! I was already beginning to recover, but had no choice, but stay in the ambulance, all the way to the hospital.When I got there, I went through the routine of checking in, and filling out the paperwork. I had most of the information with me, in a neck holster. I had been paying my health insurance for years, and everything was in order.

Next, I had to see a doctor, and there was a long wait for that. Meanwhile, my friend Ron showed up, and was able to interpret for me, since the doctor spoke no English. He and the doctor had some long conversations, that I could barely understand.

She said I should consult a neurologist, and gave me the phone number for one. Then Ron drove me home. He had been calling all my friends, back in Orosi, so everyone there knew what was going on. This happened to be voting day, something Ticos take seriously, so the streets were packed.

I took a hot shower, and went to eat at a eatery nearby and got ready for a long night's sleep.

This morning, I feel much better.