The Incident: Part 2

Samantha continues her story from The Incident: Part 1.

I climbed into the back of the ambulance. It was the first time I wasn't carried out on a stretcher. It felt awkward like I was overreacting. After climbing in, the paramedic attempted to draw blood from my arm. After blowing out both of my arms, they had to use my hand. The blood began coming out so very slow. The ambulance was hot but the paramedics were super nice. I heard them say over the radio they were on the way with a possible stroke patient. That's when the panic started.

Now is not the time to panic

I attempted to remain calm so my blood pressure didn't rise anymore. High blood pressure can cause a hemorrhagic stroke. I actually lost one of my close friends in my arms to this type of stroke. The hospital that I was on the way to had failed to admit him when they should have. But, that's another story for another day about being an advocate for your own health. Because these days, it's absolutely necessary.

So, instead of panicking, I went to my "go-to" when in distress. I began joking around with the paramedics the entire time. They were sure I was probably fine.

A series of tests and scans

As soon as I arrived at the hospital, the ER doctor immediately came into my room and began performing a series of tests. I don't like failing things, but I did fail most of the tests. The doctor even asked me to smile. Unfortunately, the right side was not moving and the doctor noticed. I was immediately given 4 baby aspirin and sent back for a CT scan with and without contrast.

After the CT scan, I had an ultrasound of my heart, echocardiogram, and EKG. Earlier in the year, I had radiation that went through the heart. It was low dose but the hospital was concerned about a hole in my heart.

The heart tests came back clear. But, the CT scan showed an abnormality. Therefore, the ER doctor ordered an MRI with and without contrast. At this point the ER doctor wanted me to see a neurosurgeon, so therefore I was admitted overnight to wait for him and for observation.

Finding an unknown bump in the images

I barely got any sleep between the blood draws and taking the vitals. The bed was super comfortable, which is odd. I wanted to sleep so badly but had to wait to speak to the neurosurgeon the next day.

When the surgeon arrived around 2 p.m. the next day, he pulled the screen to me so I could see what was going on. On the CT scan, it looked like a lightning strike. But on the MRI, it looked like a bump. He explained that it wasn't the shape of a tumor but couldn't rule out metastatic cancer to the brain again. This would mean a new treatment.

Seeking answers and advocating for myself

I decided to see another neuro. He agreed with this plan and I would go to my regular neuro for another opinion. He didn't have past scans to compare to except for one in 2014, and the spot on the left part of my brain wasn't there. At this point, I started to consider I may not make it to my 40th birthday. This scared me.

The neurosurgeon couldn't determine what it was, but it was in the left brain, which made sense as a stroke since my right side went numb. I'm still not able to drive well and extremely exhausted so my mom drove down to drive me back to Atlanta. My oncologist got me in that very week to meet with the radiation oncologist and neurologist.

I was ready for answers. So, I packed for a long trip and headed out, once again missing another birthday celebration with my daughter.