Both bad and good. While marking yesterday’s Hash trail, one of the Hares, Stewed Rat (Rob), experienced numbness in his left arm, lost his ability to speak, and then could not stand. He was fortunate to be near the bottom of the hill and close enough to civilization that the locals could assist in bringing him down to the road, where he was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Barretto. He was diagnosed with having had a transient ischemic attack, commonly referred to as a ministroke. Rob’s symptoms disappeared after an hour or so, and he felt strong enough to attend the Hash Circle. Man, that’s some scary shit. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Pubic Head (Scott) had a similar experience, albeit more severe. This morning, Althouse linked to an article in the NY Times detailing the consequences a ministroke can bring. Bottom line, it is a warning sign that frequently leads to more severe stroke symptoms if not treated promptly. Rob is a relatively young guy (appears to be in his 40s) and still works on a ship, so this condition affects more than just us elderly types.
It was another hot day, and I was on the fence about whether or not to make the big climb up Kalaklan at the beginning of the hike. After hearing about Stewed Rat, I said fuck that and did my own shortcut, coincidentally picking up the trail at Barretto High School again and doing the more gentle end climb before finishing on Baloy Beach. My trail, including the walk from my house to the start, was still a worthy 8K, so I feel good about the effort.
That’s the way Run #1654 went down. I’m happy to report there were no fatalities.
I’ve got friends in low places:
From the archives, the first post from June of 2008 here at LTG was a snapshot of a day in the life back then. Yes, that means mostly darts and drinking.
Fourteen years ago, I was settling into my suburban American life in Columbia, South Carolina:
Damn, it still hurts to have lost it all.
Today’s YouTube video is from The Filipina Pea as she compares an American Jollibee’s with the ones back home in the PI. I’m not a big fan of Jollibee’s, but as fast food goes, it ain’t bad. This video reminded me of the first time I had a KFC experience in Korea. All I could figure was the Colonel’s recipe didn’t translate well.
Today’s moment of Zen:
On The Other Hand, You Have Different Fingers.
And now for some better humor:
Livin’ it while I got it. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
My computer had a hiccup, and I don’t know whether my first attempt at a comment went through. Assuming it didn’t…
Sorry to read about Stewed Rat’s TIA. Good luck to him as he gets meds and therapy and maybe a prescription for a new life-path, preferably one without alcohol (does he even drink?).
My best buddy in the States (Mike in Fredericksburg) got back yesterday from a lovely trip to England, but his wife just had her own stroke-like episode, so they’re in the hospital, getting her tested. Possible TIA as well. It’s as if there’s something in the water.
Good luck putting all of your trees together into a walking path. Make it a good walk!
Kev, I’m not sure what the triggers for TIA are, but neither of the two recent victims have any extreme lifestyle habits I’m aware of, such as excessive drinking or obesity. Before his attack, Scott mentioned suffering from low blood pressure and Rob told me he had taken an increased dose of BP meds before hiking, so maybe that’s a connection. But yeah, these two cases, then seeing the NY Times article gives off a bit of pandemic vibe.