Friday at 3:00 PM I walked from my cube on the 4th floor to my car parked ½ a block away to put in my last 2 dollar coins so the meter would be paid until 5:oo PM.  I ran down without a coat since I wouldn’t be that long.

I reached down into the car and grabbed the 2 dollars. When I stood up I felt “off”. I was slightly dizzy. I’m not sure if my neck “popped” as it usually does or if it just hurt. I noticed that the right side of the back of my throat felt icy cold and I was walking with a slight gait to the right and was bumping the right wall if I didn’t consciously pull myself to the left.

I noticed my right thumb and index finger “go numb” as if they had “fallen asleep”.

As I reached my desk I looked up the systems for a stroke which included dizziness and numbness along with a crooked smile and slurred speech. I checked my smile with a small mirror at my desk. Nothing different – I naturally have a slightly crooked smile. I mumbled to myself and thought I sounded ok, but to be sure I called my wife at home. She concurred that I sounded ok, but mentioned my company’s in-house doctor’s clinic and suggested I stop by. View full article »