23/10/2024
Just an update on my absence from work. Last Friday I suffered a migraine at work for which I don't get much warning, vertigo then violent vomiting. It is thought that during this vomiting at some stage that day I had a dissection of my left vertebral artery (2 tiny tears in an important neck artery about an inch apart going into the base of my brain). This caused 2 very small deficits of blood supply (like strokes) to 2 parts the Medulla and the Cerebellum. What did this mean for me? I had intense headaches come and go, a cold sensation on my left side, and most notably couldn't walk unaided as my left side balance was off.
A few days on after some excellent work first at Yorketown Hospital and then the RAH (I could not fault them), I'm back home in not much discomfort. Everything is recovering very quickly and I'll be back to work soon. There will be some restrictions on what I can and can't do over the next 6 weeks but I still have my intelligence, charm, wit and looks 😜 (it wasn't those parts of the brain).
Since I survived the first couple of days my odds of full recovery and this not happening again are very good. It was a case of bad luck and a 1 in 100,000 chance of having this happen. Hopefully this explains it well enough as I have had an education over the last few days in not only the complexity of the brain but how fragile life is and how resilient the human body can be.
I can't thank my wife and family enough for the love, care and support of my stubborn self. Also thanks to Hayley and Cathy for holding the fort at work with my ever reliable locums Chris and Kingsley. They have put my contingency plan to the test this week and pass with flying colours.
George
