In the Blink of an Eye

It was Saturday, June 23, 2012 when it happened.

Doctors have their terms for it: amaurosis fugax, Central Retinal Arterial Occlusion, and cerebral embolism is what they say happened.

Putting it plainly: I had a stroke.

It was painless, lasting only about ten minutes whilst sitting at my kitchen table, eating breakfast and reading emails when, without warning, a curtain of darkness fell over my right eye. In an instant I was completely blind in the eye plus my left leg and hand felt numb.

Clearly something was wrong, terribly wrong, but I wasn't sure what.

Light returned to my eye but not all the vision. The lower half was reduced to a dark gray blur. Everything above was normal and clear.

The eye felt tired, my head felt tired, my whole body felt tired. Although I slept over eight hours and had been awake less than 30 minutes, I layed down and slept for three hours.

Two days later an eye surgeon made his initial diagnosis. A stroke, a cerebral ischemic attack.

Since then I have been examined by two radiologists, a retina surgeon, a cardiologist, and two opthamologists in search of the cause and a plan to manage my recovery.

As of yet, no one has determined exactly from what - nor from where - did the embolism originate.

I don't know when I will return to training but I am determined to run again and finish a road race by the end of this year.

Stay tuned...