02 – Meeting Stroke

When I got home I had three goals. The first goal was to get my Jordan, who is in ninth grade, situated so he could stay with his brother to make sure that he felt loved and supported while I was gone.  The second goal was to find out if Albert had health insurance, and if he did, where the information was.  The last goal was to pack and get ready to head to Nashville. 

Getting Jordan ready to spend the next week with his brother was relatively easy. Albert, my oldest son, is 10 years older than Jordan and has a family of his own. I only had to call and ask him to take care of his brother and he was agreeable. The plan was that Jordan would go to his Albert’s house after school the next day. We packed Jordan’s things and got him ready for bed.

Next, I had to find out if Albert had health insurance. I went to his computer and logged in using his password. Good thing I know his password. I found all of his passwords which was a good thing for future reference. I then started looking for information on the Affordable Healthcare Act or Obamacare. I found the information showing that he signed up for Obama Care but he had not paid for it. It was January 29, and payment was due by January 31.  This was good news and bad news because he signed up for insurance, but it wasn’t paid for. I didn’t stress because I was getting paid the next day and would purchase Obamacare. Then I started packing and getting ready for the trip to Nashville.

I got up early the next morning intending to purchase Obamacare, but the website wasn’t easy to use. I decided I would have to purchase the insurance during my layover in Dallas. The flight to Dallas was uneventful, but it was late. While waiting for the plane to Nashville, I was able to purchase Obamacare. What a relief. When I landed in Nashville my cousin Lydia picked me up from the airport and took me directly to the hospital. 

I went up the elevator and was greeted by my brother-in-law Kerry. They talked to me about Albert’s condition and all of the things that were wrong with him. They said he had lots of wires connected to him and I felt like they were trying to chitchat. I didn’t want  to small talk so I said where is Albert? They led me to his room.

As I looked at Albert I saw a small man laying on the bed breathing through a ventilator. He could not move. Kerry later told me that the night before he saw Albert around midnight working on a customer’s taxes. The next morning Kerry woke up when he heard a loud thud. He got up and Albert was on the ground. Kerry wasn’t sure what to do so he called 911. The EMS asked Kerry when he last saw Albert awake. Kerry told him around midnight. EMS said that meant Albert may have been without oxygen for up to six hours.

When the doctor came in to talk to me, he said that Albert had a stroke, an ischemic stroke, and he was paralyzed on his right side.  Albert was not able to move or use his right leg or his right arm. The left side of his brain was damaged and the doctors were not sure if Albert had more physical or brain damage. He would stay in the hospital until he stabilized, and in time we would see how much he would improve.