MISGUIDED

Despite feeling less than 100%, I stumbled my way to my hotel room door so I could drive home from my business trip.

Last night, I had trouble sitting on the sofa. I kept sliding onto the floor. My legs buckled from under me.

I had minimum success this week and I blamed that on the headaches and chest pains. Every client I saw either didn’t want the insurance or didn’t have the money right now. That didn’t help me, for that makes this trip a blank trip. I needed some sales. Maybe I can come back next weekend.

I needed to go home right now though. I was feeling a little dizzy.

When I opened the door, the beaming sunlight almost blinded me. I tried to walk to the stairway and couldn’t hardly make it. My legs seemed like rubber and my left side was in pain. Using the doorway and the wall for support, I made my way to the stairwell.

My Supervisor saw me and asked could he help. 

 “Could you please? I am having some difficulties.”

He helped me to the stairs, down them, and then to my car. I couldn’t bend down to get in.

 “Are you going to be able to drive”?

“I think I can, help me get in”.

As I started the car, I knew something wasn’t right with me but I was determined to make this 90 min. drive back to Riverdale.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, my eyes began to water and burn. I strained to see the street, but my eyes burned even the more. My vision was grayed out like when you use a pencil to shade in an area.

“What is happening to me?”, I screamed in my head.

I stopped at the stop sign and called my mom. As I begin the speak, my words were slurred and sounded cartoonist.

Mom said, “Why do you sound like that?” I didn’t notice until she said something.

“I don’t know. I feel weird”

I managed to make it out of the hotel parking lot, thinking that once I get on the main road out of Polly’s Island, I had it made. Everything looked different and I felt out of sorts.

As I drove down hwy 17, it seemed my vision was fading by the minute. Mom tried to give me directions to get home, “turn left on canyon Rd. and then turn right," she said.

“Mom, I can’t see the street signs, I don’t know which one is Canyon Rd.”

My fear increased when the 4 lane hwy turned into 2 lanes and I almost ended up in the ditch, running off the road.

“Mommy please help me, I can’t see.” 

When I turned back to switch to the 2 lanes, I veered in the opposite lane into oncoming traffic. I was driving down the wrong lane when I barely saw a Semi-truck coming towards me. There wasn’t enough time for me to move. It came closer.

 I screamed loud with fear, my mom became erratic calling my name,

“Mickey, Mickey. Say something. Are you okay?”

What should have been an impact wasn’t, he swerved at the last minute; missing me, getting so close the car rocked back and forth like in an earthquake. I could feel the wind from the near miss come through the window. I managed to make it to the side of the road, tears streaming down my face.

“Mom, I’m okay. I pulled over. I am going to sit here a minute.”

I was still more than an hour away from home. My heart was beating fast. I’m thinking, how will I get home?

After 2 minutes, I heard a tap on the window, it was law enforcement.

He said, “Ma’am, I received a call that a gray Impala was almost hit by a semi. Are you okay?

By this time,  I sounded ridiculous, so I said slowly, “Sir, despite how I sound, I am not drunk, ok. I went to the hospital yesterday and my blood sugar was elevated. "See!” I pointed to the hospital paperwork on my dash outstretching my arm, he saw the ER wristband around my wrist. “What hospital did you go to?”

“Ah, Pittsburg.” “I’m not drunk, I’m sick”

“I know you are not drunk”

“How do you know that?

“I don’t smell any alcohol”

My mother started talking to him through the car’s Bluetooth. She introduced herself. “Ma’am, he said, do you mind if I call an Ambulance for you daughter?

“No, go ahead, please”

Within 5 minutes the ambulance came and took me to another hospital. By the end of the day, I knew what had happened.

Doctor: “You are one lucky young lady. The fire chief told us what happened to you. You were almost hit by 2 semi-trucks.“

The nurse chimed in, “While you were sleeping, we took you down for a CT scan.”

Doctor: “You had a stroke, young lady. We found a blood clot in your brain. You are lucky to be alive. We could have been treating you for a different reason. That Hwy 17 is a killer. We get a lot of victims from that street.”

“Omg, are you serious?, a stroke? No, I’m not lucky, I’m Blessed”

1 year later…..

As I drive down I-26, I remember the ordeal I’d just been through just like it was yesterday. After a four-day hospital stay, I was released blind, paralyzed, and Diabetic; none of which I have ever experienced before.

I couldn’t care for myself and as I laid in the bed unable to move. I thought about the goodness of our Lord and what He had done before for me. I knew I would walk again.

After 2 months of therapy, I learned how to walk  and use my arm again. My vision returned during that time to.

I remembered when I first started driving again, I had to refamiliarize myself with MY car. I had forgotten how to move the seat, cut on wipers, lights, etc. It was shocking.

 I thank God for being back on my feet walking and seeing the grandeur of nature. The color of the trees and the changes of life. I think about all the wasted time I spent working three jobs; clocking more than 100 hr. in a work week. All for nothing. We take the small things in life for granted. I didn’t realize how misguided I had become.

I forgot about the most important things in life: love, family, happiness, and good food (lol).

This experience will help me never to forget that.