On Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:34:11 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Dec 17, 9:01*pm, Ron Wanttaja wrote:
Boy, it's been a rough couple of months for longtime netters. *Got word
that Chuck Slusarczyk is in the hospital with a stroke. *Sounds like
he's doing pretty good... "keeping the staff in stitches" was the term used.

Ron Wanttaja

As Ron said the initial news about Chuck was pretty scary. It seems
that he was down for only about 24 hours however to be safe they kept
him in ICU for about a week. He answered the phone in his room the

I lost my whole left side, but was never in ICU.

other day as "hello,Bob's pizza" so he is on the mend. From what I

I used "Tony's bar and grill". I was informed "Tillie's whore house"
was not acceptable.

understand about strokes he had about as minor a stroke as one can
have. Then again no stroke is minor.

There are several types of stroke with one caused by a ruptured blood
vessel (aneurysm) and the other by a clog (either clot or plaque)
Then there is the TIA or Transient Ischemic Attack which is far more
common than most realize. About 1% of the white, male population has
had one by the time they reach adult hood. With some minorities it's
as high as 10%. These are typically some sort of transient blockage
moving through an area.

I was on Oxygen within 5 to 6 minutes of the first symptoms and within
several hours I was starting to get some movement back in my fingers
and toes on the left side. I never did lose consciousness. They
called it a TIA and sent me home after about 5 to 6 hours. When I
woke after a two hour nap my whole left side was gone. Had they kept
me on O2 for a few more hours I'd probably have been fine, but that is
pure speculation.

Although as you say, none are minor, I think the one caused by an
aneurysm is far more dangerous and more likely to repeat. Of course
if your pipes are clogged with plaque that's not a good sign either.
Mine were so clean they ran a second check to make sure.

It's strange and scary to sit there and watch as parts of your body
start shutting down to the point where you no longer have any control
over them. When a hand seems to weigh 20 pounds and a foot weighs 50,
it's a strange feeling. Yesterday you could type 60 to 70 WPM and now
your fingers don't respond regardless of how hard you try can be quite
scary.

Me? Almost two years later the only sign is a slight limp when my leg
gets tired, although my left foot feels like the Novocain shot hasn't
completely worn off. Balance is back and far better than most people
my age. I did have to learn how to walk again and had about 3 to 4
months of PT on top of that. PT is affectionately known as "pain and
torture" by its practitioners. :-))

Of course the guys at the airport told me that if I needed a phyc eval
they all testify I hadn't changed a bit. Strangely, they all said
that with a funny looking grin.

Roger


Frank M.Hitlaw Hawk owner 2X