Approximately five years ago, on a beautiful warm, sunny morning in Southwest Florida, my husband, Bob, and I went out to run some errands. Upon entering the store, I said to Bob that I would get the potholders, and asked him to get paper towels.
After selecting the potholders, I went in search of Bob. When I located him, he was empty-handed.I asked where the paper towels were, and he replied that he could not find them. I found that a bit odd, particularly since he was at the end of the aisle which housed them, but I grabbed some paper towels, and we proceeded to check out.
As we walked to the car, I glanced at my husband, and thought he looked a bit stressed or anxious – I was not sure which. I asked him if he was all right, to which he replied that he felt “strange”. When I asked what he meant by “strange”, I realized that he was having difficulty expressing himself. My heart was pounding, because I was very afraid that Bob might be having a stroke. I knew that I should remain calm, and tried to remember all the questions one should ask in such a situation.
Once we were in the car, I asked Bob his birth date, address and telephone number, and to my horror, and his extreme dismay, he could not remember any of those things. He could follow directions, such as raising his arms when asked. However, when I asked him to repeat a simple sentence, he was unable to do so. I was now convinced that it was a stroke. He was acutely aware of the fact that he was unable to recall basic facts, which made him extremely anxious.
I told him that I was going to drive to the hospital, to which he was vehemently opposed, and insisted that we return to the condo. Several times while en route to the hospital, Bob insisted that I turn around and drive to the condo. My instinct told me that I must go to the hospital, but I was terribly conflicted. I knew at this point that Bob’s fate was in God’s hands, and I asked God to take care of him, and to guide me to do the right thing. God guided me to do the right thing, I believe, because I felt a sense of absolute certainty that I had to disregard Bob’s insistence that we return to the condo, and proceed to the hospital.
And God protected Bob, for which I am eternally grateful. He had not suffered a stroke, but had suffered an episode of what is called Transient Global Amnesia, a non-stroke related phenomenon, which can last from several minutes, to several days, and which causes temporary short-term memory loss. Doctors are uncertain as to precisely what causes a TGA. Bob’s memory began to return shortly after we arrived at the Emergency Room, and was completely back to normal later that day. After a three day hospital stay, and many tests, he was discharged in excellent health and, thankfully, has never had another TGA. The outcome of that day is something for which I thank God daily.
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