Don protégé
We are raising funds to help our friend AshMich who is hospitalized with a very rare form of a stroke at the young age of 31.
We wanted to share AshMich’s story in her own words because it is so powerful and will help you understand how rare her condition is and how lucky she is to be alive.
“For the last month, I have been having these RIDICULOUS headaches. They would be so bad they would wake me from deep sleep. They were always located directly behind my right eye, on the top of my head, and at the base of my neck. There would be days that I couldn’t even leave my bed cause of the pain.
Shortly after, I realized I might need new glasses. My vision was blurry, my eyes were tired, and sometimes I’d have vertigo. I knew the amount of screen time didn’t help, but I became afraid to drive.
I started getting these weird sensations. It felt like tingling, and I often described it as static, all over my lips and cheeks. It also started happening on the top of my tongue, making it feel fuzzy, or as if I burnt it the day prior. These sensations would come, then slowly fade back to normal.
One day, I sat up from bed and couldn’t hear. My hearing went from completely normal to as if I was swimming in the deep sea or my ears popped on an airplane. It was a strange sensation but it only lasted a few moments.
One night I was sitting on the couch with my mom when I realized something didn’t seem right and the tingly static was back and slowly spreading through the left side of my face from my lips. I went upstairs to brush my teeth and climb into bed only to look into the mirror and notice my left side of my face wasn’t doing anything like the right side of it.
I thought I was having a stroke.
Panicked I ran downstairs and said I need to get to the hospital. When the ambulance got to mom and me they quickly ruled out that I was having a stroke because I didn’t fit any of the other symptoms. They assumed I had Bell’s Palsy, which is common in this area due to Lyme disease.
Once I got to the hospital, the doctor was in the midst of trying to prove it was Bell’s Palsy and disprove it was a stroke when she realized something seemed off about my forehead. It wasn’t moving at all, and it was completely numb.
She rush ordered a CT scan, and told me that it would be for the stroke but really because she wanted to see something.
This doctor in Beverly Hospital saw that my numb forehead had no motion, and instead of brushing it off and deciding I have Bell’s Palsy, she sent me to a CT to discover I actually have Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis.
Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis is a rare form of a stroke that affects about 5 people out of a million each year. It is when a blood clot forms on the veins on top of your brain, preventing blood to drain from your brain.
The doctor was shocked that not only was it diagnosed, due to how rare it was, she was shocked that it was able to be diagnosed that quickly from just my forehead seeming off.
I was then immediately transferred to Neurology at Lacey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington where I was greeted by a team of 5 doctors who ordered a ton of tests.
So far I have had 2 CT scans, an ophthalmologist check, speech pathologist check, more blood work than imaginable, and a neurology check every 2 hours. I’m scheduled for an MRI but my doctors have been putting off, hoping the blood thinner will help flush out the clot.
It’s all been scary but I’m grateful for all the love, support, and help I’ve been getting. I know that I am lucky and hope every day that I will get better."
We wanted to share AshMich’s story in her own words because it is so powerful and will help you understand how rare her condition is and how lucky she is to be alive.
“For the last month, I have been having these RIDICULOUS headaches. They would be so bad they would wake me from deep sleep. They were always located directly behind my right eye, on the top of my head, and at the base of my neck. There would be days that I couldn’t even leave my bed cause of the pain.
Shortly after, I realized I might need new glasses. My vision was blurry, my eyes were tired, and sometimes I’d have vertigo. I knew the amount of screen time didn’t help, but I became afraid to drive.
I started getting these weird sensations. It felt like tingling, and I often described it as static, all over my lips and cheeks. It also started happening on the top of my tongue, making it feel fuzzy, or as if I burnt it the day prior. These sensations would come, then slowly fade back to normal.
One day, I sat up from bed and couldn’t hear. My hearing went from completely normal to as if I was swimming in the deep sea or my ears popped on an airplane. It was a strange sensation but it only lasted a few moments.
One night I was sitting on the couch with my mom when I realized something didn’t seem right and the tingly static was back and slowly spreading through the left side of my face from my lips. I went upstairs to brush my teeth and climb into bed only to look into the mirror and notice my left side of my face wasn’t doing anything like the right side of it.
I thought I was having a stroke.
Panicked I ran downstairs and said I need to get to the hospital. When the ambulance got to mom and me they quickly ruled out that I was having a stroke because I didn’t fit any of the other symptoms. They assumed I had Bell’s Palsy, which is common in this area due to Lyme disease.
Once I got to the hospital, the doctor was in the midst of trying to prove it was Bell’s Palsy and disprove it was a stroke when she realized something seemed off about my forehead. It wasn’t moving at all, and it was completely numb.
She rush ordered a CT scan, and told me that it would be for the stroke but really because she wanted to see something.
This doctor in Beverly Hospital saw that my numb forehead had no motion, and instead of brushing it off and deciding I have Bell’s Palsy, she sent me to a CT to discover I actually have Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis.
Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis is a rare form of a stroke that affects about 5 people out of a million each year. It is when a blood clot forms on the veins on top of your brain, preventing blood to drain from your brain.
The doctor was shocked that not only was it diagnosed, due to how rare it was, she was shocked that it was able to be diagnosed that quickly from just my forehead seeming off.
I was then immediately transferred to Neurology at Lacey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington where I was greeted by a team of 5 doctors who ordered a ton of tests.
So far I have had 2 CT scans, an ophthalmologist check, speech pathologist check, more blood work than imaginable, and a neurology check every 2 hours. I’m scheduled for an MRI but my doctors have been putting off, hoping the blood thinner will help flush out the clot.
It’s all been scary but I’m grateful for all the love, support, and help I’ve been getting. I know that I am lucky and hope every day that I will get better."
Organisateur et bénéficiaire
Julia Franzese
Organisateur
Mount Kisco, NY
Ashley-Michelle Cole
Bénéficiaire