I ended up in ICU for 5 days. They came in to check on me and get vitals every few hours and during the middle of the night. On day 3 I had a TEE performed. To quote my cardiologist, “her heart is perfect.” I was cleared of any heart conditions, issues, holes and high blood pressure.

Everyday a nurse would come in and ask me to move my left leg and move my left arm. They would give me a number which I had no idea what it meant. Apparently the score mattered and it was a indication if there was improvement or not. Being in ICU was boring. Visitors were limited to what they could bring. Food delivery was ok but no real flowers. I didn’t have much of an appetite. My sister who lives in New Jersey decides to order Doordash and deliver breakfast and ice cream to my room. It was a sweet gesture but I just wanted to not be there. I only had a few friends visit. It was mainly family from my husband’s side of the family. My dad and siblings live in New Jersey so I don’t have any biological family in San Antonio.

I remembered having to go bathroom in a bed pan and since I barely ate a thing, I really didn’t have a need to go number 2. But when I did, I had to use the bedside commode which was a very interesting and humbling experience.

A day after my TEE test, they took me for a swallow study. That was a new concept for me. They wanted to study the way I swallow. I’m learning so much about this new, horrible predicament that I was in. Strokes can affect how a person swallows. Some survivors can’t swallow at all and will have to use a feeding tube for food. Swallowing can improve over time. Others may have issues with how the swallow occurs, therefore, food could go into the lungs which can cause pneumonia which can be deadly.

During my study, I had to swallow water liquids, some apple sauce and chew a granola bar ti swallow. These items had barium which provides contrast for the imaging to see which pipe these items entered, my esophagus or my wind pipe. I would find out in a few days …