Husband ‘my rock’ through surgery, stroke
“It was all kind of a blur for me. All I know is that I woke up in a hospital bed with a half-shaved head. The first thing I asked my nurse was, ‘Can you get me some lip balm?’ Because I need stuff on my lips at all times. I bet that lip balm cost me $100.
“I learned that because of a brain bleed, a subdural hematoma, they had to do emergency surgery to relieve the pressure. I was in the ICU for about a week. I felt fine. I got bored. Mostly, I was upset about my hair. After I got out, my kids were like, ‘You should just shave your whole head and let it all grow back together.’ I was like, ‘No way.’ I had shoulder-length hair, and now I’ve got short hair.
“My husband was scared to leave me by myself. But I was like, ‘I’m fine.’ Then I had a stroke. I was life-flighted to Tyler, and I was coherent during all that. I was just mad that I couldn’t see out the helicopter window.
“After a day or so, I started losing my speech. I would forget how to say words. Then I lost feeling in my right hand. I was in the hospital for a week. My voice started coming back. My hand was coming back. But I still had a long way to go. I would sometimes slur my words, so I sounded like I was drunk.
“I don’t know what I would have done without my husband, Tim, by my side. He did everything for me. He made me speak when I didn’t want to speak. He gave me sentences to say every day. He made me do physical exercises when I didn’t feel like it. As a chiropractor, he’s trained for it. I’ll just say he’s been my rock through everything. It’s why I’m here today.”
— Stacey Lundberg Stiff
Stacey has been a teacher for 25 years. She taught seventh grade at Gentry Junior School in Baytown, before the family moved to Jacksonville, Texas.
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