On Kim's birthday this year, he got a gift that he wasn't expecting: a trip to the ER at Jefferson Main Campus. He called me and told me he was having a stroke. He refused to dial 911, so I drove home from work with him talking to me on the phone the entire way. When I got home, he was seated in a chair and clearly experiencing several things: numbness on the left side and on his face, nausea, dizziness, and confusion. He could not stand up on his own. I dialed 911. EMS arrived and took him to the hospital.

We aren't sure what all caused this situation, but the ER attending physician did a brain scan. He felt he was okay. I felt he wasn't. We discussed several things, and at the end of the day, he sent him home with me.

I was not happy. He asked me the same ten questions non-stop for nearly three hours. He was still very confused. The doctor's personal opinion was it wasn't a stroke, even though he said other doctors didn't agree with him. I know I was definitely not in agreement with him, as he told us to go home and call 911 if it happened again? WTHeck.

The next few days, I was home from work and watched him closely. He seemed somewhat better but was still getting dizzy if he pushed himself. I had him stay in bed and rest as much as I could get him to. I returned to work on Thursday, and when I came home from work, he seemed a little confused. My biggest thing daily was to ask him what he remembered. Some of his memory returned, but not all of it. He then told me he thought he had to work that morning and had gone to the bus stop and gotten nauseous and realized he wasn't scheduled for the morning shift. He even said he threw up at the bus stop and it was a struggle to walk back home. He was scheduled for the afternoon. I immediately had him call his employer and cancel work for the day.

At some point in the discussion of what happened earlier in the day, he went outside to throw garbage in the can. At this point, he got sick. He then came into the house and went into the bedroom and asked me for a garbage can to throw up in. He was in a deep cold sweat, he was numb on his left side, and he was not well. I called 911 again. This time I was seriously concerned, and they had to walk me through what to do for him.

It took about 40 minutes to arrive, and that was a long 40 minutes for me, talking softly and reminiscing with him over many things. I remained calm. They came in and tested him, and again he seemed to pass many of the tests, but they gave him a shot and then got him up and walked him out.

They asked which hospital, and this time I said Baptist. When I finally arrived at Baptist, they had finally checked him in. After the first time, I know these things take time. I met the two attending nurses and spoke with them, and told them about the incident on Sunday. They were preparing to do a brain scan. I told them they could compare it to the one on Sunday. They were just getting into his file and looking at what occurred. They said to me, "Should've asked them to take him to Jefferson," and then I had to tell them I chose not to because of the incident on Sunday where they sent him home.

He had some memory loss. Not as bad as before, but clearly a repeat of Sunday with a little different flavor.

The attending physician made a call to do an MRI, which unfolded the truth: he had a stroke. They decided to keep him overnight or longer to test him.

I was relieved that he was in good hands at this point and I could go home.

I visited him the next day and brought him things he needed, a book to read, and snacks. He was still very dizzy. The attending nurse came in and explained they were going to do a bubble test to see if there were any more blockages. He was then prescribed blood thinners while they gave him a shot. They said plaque had come loose and caused this.

They talked all kinds of stuff, and I divulged as much information as I could, including a new medicine he was given three days prior to the first incident.

They chose to keep him a few days. The next day, I went to Lake Charles to work, and then returned the next day, and he was home. He seems to be concerned about returning to work, and I'm concerned and telling him he needs the doctor's permission. He refused to let anyone pick him up from the hospital as well, and walked out and took a bus home. again I'm like WTHeck?

Either way, I'm sure the ambulance bill and the deductible for medical will be upon us soon, and I don't want him returning to work until he is fully recovered. So here we are. I'm putting this out there in the hopes that his friends can help.

We need Mr. Kim to get healthy and return to normalcy.

Most of all, I'm thankful he's still here.