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Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper Laura and I waited in a room in the ER for the results of the CAT scan. Finally, the on-call doctor appeared to deliver the results. Wait for it…wait for it… BOOM! I had suffered a significant stroke (CVA) to the right portion, the basal ganglia area, of my brain. It affected my logical reasoning and emotions, along with my left side motor control and movement. Not only did the stroke affect my scheduled cranioplasty surgery date, more importantly, it would have a definite impact on the rest my life. But how? When arteries are clipped, they form clots. The cause is not definitive. Regardless, I had a clot which caused a stroke. When clots form and break away, they wreak havoc at their final destination. With an ischemic stroke, there is a high likelihood of lifelong disabilities or, worse off, death. I was lucky enough to survive, but the diverse list of lifelong disabilities has impaired me forever. The basal ganglia is responsible for motor control, regulation of body movement, higher level cognitive functioning such as memory, reasoning, organizing, planning and mental flexibility. More times than not, a stroke in this area can lead to unannounced episodes of laughing, crying and very often depression. Was this the beginning of the end for me? I reflected on the events of the past eight months: in January, I suffered a Subarachnoid Hemorrhage caused by a giant, ruptured brain aneurysm. And now in August, I just suffered an Ischemic Stroke, possibly from a clot that formed and dislodged itself from one of the aneurysm clips inserted ten months earlier. Out of the one hundred billion estimated brain cells that I was gifted with, I can’t begin to estimate how many of my brain cells were killed. They are dead and no longer able to do their necessary jobs as a result of this stroke. The American Stroke Association: The typical patient loses 1.9 million neurons each minute in which stroke is untreated. The scheduled surgery for replacing my missing skull bone was put on hold, and I was told that I would need to wear that white, oversized helmet even longer than originally planned. Page 82 of 167
Brain Go BOOM! Author/Survivor: John Cooper At the time, I felt that not having the cranioplasty on the scheduled date was a major bump in my cobblestoned road to recovery. Long-term it was just a pebble. The gapping sinkholes were not too far ahead of me. We had a terrific time in Cape May, minus the stroke. To this day, I still love going there and since the stroke, we’ve been back several times. I refuse to let an unfortunate occurrence at a certain location control my destiny. I say to hell with all of that bad, superstitious stuff that people live their life by. Frank died and then I had a stroke. In my life, the Cape May name is associated with both of them and who cares? I like Cape May and so does Laura. “On the way to Cape May, I fell in love with you…” Page 83 of 167
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