A week ago Daniel’s dad had a stroke while he was driving to work.
I won’t go into too much clinical detail, but thanks to quick response and an amazing team at Harborview he seems to have made a full recovery.
What I will say is that it was terrifying. When Daniel called to tell me, so many things ran through my head and it’s not easy to keep your mind from going to the worst case scenario.
I’ve spent a lot of long days and nights in hospitals and SNFs with my grandparents and as my parents have had outpatient surgeries. It was easy for me to switch into that mode, but it is a type of stress that is hard to explain. You have no control over the situation and you can never have the same level of knowledge that the medical staff has. For me, the only way to deal with that is to ask a thousand questions and gather as much information as possible.
The American Heart Association has been a huge help! There are a bunch of resources about stroke rehab and dealing with Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease and High Cholesterol. In the past, we’ve done the Heart Walk, but I plan to volunteer more this year and help give back so others have access to education that could prevent these conditions!
Briana Ledesma 