Falling Down at 1.99

UFLW9498Part of my therapy, my exercise routine is to go for a walk on days that I do not go to the gym. My very good friend and forever neighbor sent me a text asking if I wanted to go for a walk, it was a bit unusual since it was Thursday afternoon and she is usually at work. I jumped at the chance. To be honest, I have been slacking off on my walks. I have been to the gym and use the elliptical or the treadmill. So off we went. I love our walks Tammy and I, we have known each for ages, since our kids were toddlers. We used to spend many summer afternoons well into the evenings playing at the park. Our kids covered head to toe with sand. We’ve had to spray them off with the hose on at the front yard before going inside. Now, our kids are teens, now busy with their own lives . So it is just now Tammy and I reminiscing about the good old days. We also vent, talk about our day, our week our lives.  So there we were, on a warm Thursday afternoon walking down familiar paths that we have walked many, many times.  We turn around to get back home and I see that my Runkeeper was at 1.85 miles, I of course wanted, no needed to make it to 2 miles. I asked Tammy if it would be ok if we walk to end of the street and around the corner to make it to two miles. I was pushing myself, trying to walk faster and all of the sudden, I feel myself going down, I see the panic on Tammy’s face, I dropped my phone and as if on instinct the first thing I did was to STOP the Runkeeper app. A rush of frustration came over me when I saw that I fell at 1.99 miles! Ok. ok some of you might just shrug it off and think it is no big deal, but another runner would understand the frustration. I felt something warm on my arm, my running capris was dotted with little red spots, the pain now starting to creep up on me. A car pulled up as we sit on the sidewalk, blood dripping on my arm and pants. Two people come out of the car asking if we were ok.

The young man addressing Tammy said “We saw what happened. We saw her fall, can we give you a ride home?” I tried to protest, the house is just around the corner. Tammy accepted their offer, she was shaking. I keep telling her I am ok. Things were getting blurry now. My son, Vincent, heard the car pull up to the curb and ran out to meet us. Tammy’s voice was shaky as she tells Armando what happened.  I had ran to the bathroom to see the damage. I had sustained a cut on the left side of my face, right under my eye barely missing my eyeball. My eyeglass broke and a piece of plastic cut my face. It was decided that I needed a trip to the emergency room.

To be continued…

Much Love, 

MommaBerna

 

How it Began

I once had a blog where I intended to talk about running, races, and training for runs and races. Life got busy and the blog fell by the wayside. Then life threw my family and me for a loop.

It was Tuesday, October 28, 2014. Game 6 of the Giants vs. Royals World Series. I had been asleep all day, having had a shot of morphine at the emergency room the night before. I had the worse headache of my life Monday night, I was screaming in pain so my husband, Armando drove me to the emergency room. They did not determine anything to be wrong, so they gave me a dose of morphine (perhaps to shut me up as I was screaming!!!) and sent me home. The next day, I called in sick for work and slept. When I woke up at around 4:00 P.M. feeling guilty because I had slept all day, I went downstairs with faint ache still lingering in my head which I attributed to the meds wearing off, I made dinner.

I guess this time, my tutu did not bring me any luck at all.

After dinner, wearing my lucky orange tutu I cheered for my Giants. A win would clinch another World Series title.   My headache was getting progressively worse, it did not help that the Royals tied the series ( SF Giants you owe me a few million brain cells). I remember everything being hazy that night. I went upstairs to get ready for bed my head pounding now, I was also very nauseous. I said goodnight and I love you to Scotty, after tucking him in he asked me too lay down next to him for a bit. He looked very sad when I told him I can’t. I just wanted to go to bed because my head was really hurting. I threw up in the bathroom, felt a “pop” in my head and staggered out. Vincent kept asking me what was wrong, I was telling him my head was hurting really bad, he kept saying “I can’t understand what you’re saying”. He was saying “something is wrong”. He called 911.  I tried opening my eyes and saw paramedics, I kept hearing “stroke”. My memories from that night are definitely vague. I remember crying and saying goodbye to Scotty and Vincent. I remember being wheeled out of the house and seeing the flashing red lights. Then everything went blank.

This was the beginning of what would be the longest race I will ever tackle.  Please join me on this journey.  I would love and appreciate your support.

Stroke Awareness Month Part Two

I had already mentioned that May is Stroke Awareness Month. Here in the Silicon Valley, the Stroke Awareness Foundation has played a major role in raising  community awareness and education about stroke.  Each year, they hold their biggest fundraiser: The annual Stroke Walk. The 5k walk happens at the beautiful San Jose Rose Gardens which in the month of May is in full bloom. This year, I decided to not only participate in the walk, but also participate in the fundraiser. I posted my link on Facebook and Instagram and surprisingly enough donations started coming in. My heart was filled with gratitude. The messages that accompanied the donations were even more heartfelt. People telling me how I have inspired them, how they see me as a strong, determined individual. I was also amazed by the people who signed up to join me on  the walk. Sunday May 15th turned out to be a gorgeous day. My family where with me, my friends were there and hundreds of people who are there to support a great cause.

For more information about the Stroke Awareness Foundation visit their website:Stroke Awareness Foundation

Together we support Stroke Awareness.
Together we support Stroke Awareness.

Ready, Set…

 

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I decided to start blogging my journey to recovery because navigating this road is tough. I want to be accountable, I want to learn from others and maybe, just maybe I will also be able to inspire.

I have learned so much this past 18 months. I have learned that  I have to be my own advocate when it comes to getting the care  that I need. There are people in this world who are truly kind and caring. I have learned that I have amazing friends, and most importantly my family is strong and we are able to survive a life changing tragedy.

“Pardon the dust, this site is still under construction”,  please bear with me as I fumble along the first few posts. I promise to deliver good stories even as I work on making this site more attractive.