? My Numb Thumb And More

If you look you'll see that I didn't post my weight. Why? Well, it all started with my numb thumb. Yesterday morning I woke up and soon realized that my left thumb was totally numb. I'd been warned to pay attention to numbness in my limbs due to my back and neck issues. So I called my doctor who said that I needed to go to the ER because she couldn't see me and with the weekend approaching, she didn't want me to let it go until Monday. So off I went convinced that I probably had a pinched nerve in my neck and that was a problem I could get taken care of. Well, before I knew it, I had an EKG, a blood draw and a CT Scan and a diagnosis of stroke! OMG, Jeff and I were both in a state of shock and I was in total denial. All I had was a numb thumb and they were talking about a cardiologist and an echo cardiogram, a physical therapist, and an MRI, and that I would have to stay overnight.

I'm home now and guess what? I didn't have a stroke. I have a numb thumb. (The medical term is radial nerve sensory branch neuropathy.) To be fair, there was a area on the CT scan that looked like damage from a stroke, according to the neurologist, but in fact it wasn't related to a recent stroke or maybe not related to a stroke at all. I'm not sure if I even had the presence of mind to ask why there was this area in my brain that caused all of the confusion. I was so happy hearing him say I was fine, I really couldn't focus. And so about 30 hours after I drove myself to the ER, I'm home, feeling elated and exhausted and ready to go get in my pool, and put my fears away and enjoy my health and my life.