By Brenda Cannon Henley
I suppose a word of explanation is in order since I have been A.W.O.L for several weeks. I had an “event,” “episode,” or “incident” in mid-July while driving that I thought was related to high blood pressure. I am not a very medical person, but I realized something was not right with my body (no rude comments here, please), so I pulled over in a pretty church parking lot, rolled down my window, and composed myself until I felt better. I drove home and rested for a while.

A few weeks went by and my sister came to visit from Georgia. As we were leaving the busy airport, she immediately asked, “What is wrong with you?” Startled, I replied, “What do you mean?” And she proceeded to tell me.

Hurricane Harvey was making his appearance here in Houston when I was in my doctor’s office being tested. It seems that my left side is just a tad weaker than my right side and that deferring to that issue was what my sister first noticed in the way I walked. She actually said I reminded her of the old Weeble Wobbles our kids played with years ago. I do remember that heavy bottomed little clown image that rocked back and forth on the floor.

Because of the storm, further testing was put on hold. I had started noticing that my left eye was giving me more trouble than usual, was watering a lot, and decided I had a hole in my chin. I also felt more tired than usual.

I was sitting still and watching TV one night when my chin kept appearing to me to drip. My sister checked it out and determined that the left corner of my mouth was drooping a little and a slight amount of liquid was escaping. I was not able to feel it until it reached my chin, so therefore, I considered my chin to be leaking when, in fact, it wasn’t.

Because I worked four or five days clearing out my home in Orange and the completely flooded out garage, I attracted infection and inflamation in my eyes, which were already affected by the “incident.” Went directly to my eye doctor, had several lengthly tests, two prescriptions, and got that under control quickly. I also invested in some great new and quite stylish glasses.

Underwent a CT scan and results were inconclusive as to exactly what had happened, but my doctor, who is great, feels I had a slight stroke, but because I did not realize it, I kept going with my normal work and routine. She said I had been doing exactly what physical therapy would have made me do, so it all worked out for the good.

The only thing that is a bit troubling is that once our older body has undergone a stroke, slight or otherwise, they tend to reoccur. So, for the most part, I am obeying my doctor’s orders, watching my blood pressure, taking a daily aspirin, and keeping busy. I have avoided long telephone conversations, being involved in useless drama and unnecessary conflict, and concentrated on staying healthy. My friends understand and they support me in my decisions.

Planning on celebrating my big 75th birthday at Christmas and have exciting plans for travel, projects, and doing things with my friends. Psalm 37:4 has been my life verse for many years. I have added Hebrews 6:19 in the later years and know that my Anchor holds no matter what storms may come.
[10-9-2017]