Scatterbrained Unto Eternity

Cette robe est faite en drap brun clair; la jupe, disposée derrière en plis profonds, est garnie d'une ceinture en perles, doublée de même drap. Le corsage-blouse, froncé derrière, bouffant devant, recouvert en forme d'empiècement avec du velours brun foncé, est orné de pattes en perles doublées en drap, terminées devant et derrière par de petits nœuds en velours. Le col droit plissé et les manches bouffantes sont faits en velours.

Jupon en taffetas blanc, bordé avec deux volants tuyautés très-étroits. Robe en gaze de soie blanche lisse; chaque lé arrondi sur son bord inférieur, est séparé du lé voisin sur une hauteur de 25 centimètres, et l'on aperçoit le jupon entre chaque lé de la robe, qui est, du reste, un peu plus courte que ce jupon, et bordée avec un ruban de velours rouge, posé entre deux dentelles blanches, étroites, remontant sur chaque couture. Au-dessus de la séparation qui divise les lés, se trouve un chou en ruban de velours, entouré de dentelles, et terminé par des glands en perles. Corsage décolleté, très-bas, complété par une chemisette décolletée, faite en mousseline plissée; l'encolure de la chemisette et celle du corsage sont garnies de rubans en velours rouge. Coiffure ornée de guirlandes de fuchsias.

A white taffeta petticoat, edged with two very narrow, pleated flounces. A dress of smooth white silk gauze; each panel, rounded at its lower edge, is separated from the adjacent panel by a height of 25 centimeters, and the petticoat is visible between each panel of the dress, which is, moreover, slightly shorter than this petticoat, and edged with a red velvet ribbon, placed between two narrow white laces, extending up each seam. Above the separation that divides the panels is a velvet ribbon tassel, surrounded by lace, and finished with pearl tassels. A very low-cut bodice, complemented by a low-cut chemisette made of pleated muslin; the necklines of both the chemisette and the bodice are trimmed with red velvet ribbons. A headdress adorned with garlands of fuchsias.

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Robe en sultane blanche, à triples rayures bleues, garnie avec trois biais de taffetas bleu. Paletot pareil garni comme la robe, formé avec de gros boutons de nacre blanche. Chapeau en tulle bleu. Ombrelle bleue, doublée de blanc, avec manche en bois sculpté.

So for strokes the signs are abbreviated BE FAST. Balance loss, Eyesight changes, Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, -> Time to call 911.

Had I known those MAYBE I would have figured it out but my symptoms were a little mixed. I was reading (fanfic!) in bed because it was a sunday morning and i had nothing pressing to do and suddenly got dizzy. I put my laptop aside because my eyes were blurring (Eyesight changes - symptom #1), and laid down, thinking it would pass, it didn't, it's a little vague how it progressed because I'd been having headaches and neckpain for about 3 weeks leading up to it so I was like 'idk is this a migraine?' (headaches can be a stroke symptom so symptom #2) but i got nauseous and eventually got up and to my utmost surprise I immediately fell over as if I was the drunkest of frat bros. The room literally spun before my eyes as I fell to the floor (Balance loss - symptom #3). I have had some Nights and I had never been that unsteady before. I crawled my way to the bathroom, threw up (nausea - not a common stroke symptom) , took 800mg of ibuprofen, and crawled back to bed.

if you know anything about ibuprofen you might know it's a mild blood thinner and that's a high dose. I may have inadvertently helped myself with that one. I was just feeling like shit and thinking 'idk this might help'

At this point I still thought we were still in Normal Land. Sure, it was a weird morning, but Surely There Was A Reason. (Yes There Was) Anyway, as I'm lying there willing my body to stop suffering I realize my arm is going numb (stroke symptom #4) and I switch positions, because weird, but it doesn't go away, and I gave it a good little while. I'm on a medication that can make my limbs tingle but it usually just does it to my fingers and it dissipates quickly but this wasn't dissipating, and then I realized one of my legs was also going numb. Then one side of my face is going numb.

(at the time I did not look in the mirror but I had a drooping eyelid - symptom #5)

Those all seem bad. I grab my computer and google 'when to go to the hospital for dizzyness' as that felt like the worst of my problems. and indeed the list I found highlighted that if you are also experiencing loss of balance, blurred vision, nausea, and limb numbness, you should see a doctor. That seems like far too many symptoms to be having all to be listed. I grab my phone (thankfully plugged in and by my bed), and start layering on more clothing because it's about 10 degrees out and i'm in a pajama dress. The very nice man at 911 talks with me and sends an ambulance, I tell him I don't think I can get out the front door of my building on my own and he asks if I can get to MY apartment door to which I say yes and he assures me that's fine they will have keys to my building.

(I have been since informed they love to chop down doors but no, I could get that far)

I wait by my door laying down on the ground and they arrive pretty quickly. They see to me in the hallway, which is more of a lobby in my building and the only place with room for me to lie down (I cannot stand unassisted at this point) they ask me a bunch of questions, take vitals, and ask me where I would like to be taken. Me, having never had to go to the fucking hospital in an emergency before, simply go 'wherever is close' because I again, I am having a stroke and do not have the wherewithal to think through these things.

A big firefighter helps me down the stairs (it's only a half flight and I still almost did not make it) and we get underway.

At the hospital they wheel me into triage and I mostly lie there gratefully and answer some questions and respond to some tests (grip strength, following a pen with my eyes, that sort of thing) and then I hear what is great when you've been at urgent care for two hours but what is Very Bad when you just arrived in an ambulance and that's 'She's next'. I jumped the line for a CT scan and an MRI. I was there less than ten minutes before I was actively being scanned. honestly closer to five.