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Four days ago I had a stroke. I was pushing the lawnmower cutting the grass when suddenly a buzzing sensation started on the right side of my face and traveled down the right side of my body through my arm and leg. Within seconds my right arm and leg went completely limp and I could not move them. I knew I was in big trouble and managed to maintain my balance on one leg for about 30 seconds until eventually some feeling returned and I was able to limp to the house.

It took a bit longer for the feeling in my arm to return and I was able to move it but not very well. My arm and leg felt like they were being controlled by someone else like a puppet on a string. My wife drove me to the nearest emergency room which was about an hour away.

After about 4 or 5 hours and a series of tests showed nothing (blood workup, EKG, Catscan) the doctor told me it might be a TIA (mild stoke) and I should take some aspirin to thin my blood and if things were not back to normal in 24 hours then I should see my doctor or come back there. He recommended that I stay in the hospital for observation but they were not going to do anything until the next day. I decided to just go home.

The next morning I got up and immediately fell on my face when my right leg wouldn't move. My leg and arm seemed to be wired differently and I had to concentrate to move them. After much effort I was able to get them to move but not very well. I practiced walking etc.. for several hours and eventually could move them but could not do simple things like pick up a glass, or write, use a mouse, type, etc... Any fine movements were uncontrollable.

I called the doctor who was referred to me by the ER and explained that things were worse. He wanted me to take an ambulance to the ER and check in to the hospital for observation and he would schedule more tests. There was no treatment to be done just observation in case I had a heart attack or something. He said the tests (MRI, ultrasound,etc..) could not be scheduled until the following day. I told him to schedule the tests and I would have my wife drive me there.

In the meantime I kept exercising my arm and leg and gradually things were getting back to normal. I am almost back to normal except for a small limp and I cannot do fine things with my arm and hand like write or hold objects real steady. But I am so relieved that things have improved so much in a few days and am convinced that I will be back to normal in a few weeks.

So now I had to decide if I should go forward with these tests so I called the doctor to discuss it. He said that there was only a very small chance that the tests will show the cause of the problem and most likely we will never know but he would be remiss if he didn't recommend them. Other than blood thinners like Plavex and/or aspirin there was no treatment other than physical therapy for this.

So I decided to try and find out how expensive these tests are in order to make the decision whether to have them done. The doctor said he did not know the cost but was sure they were not cheap and to call the hospital. The hospital was not sure about the ultrasound but the MRI would be anywhere from $800 to $4000 excluding any personel and doctor costs and the average was a few thousand. I asked her how a person is supposed to make a decision if they don't know the costs and she said as long as she worked there that I was the only one who ever asked.

I decided to take my chances and cancelled all the tests. I am amazed at how little we know about what things cost in the medical field. People seem to be bothered and somewhat offended when you ask them. If things don't improve dramatically or get worse perhaps I'll get the tests if I can figure out how to shop for them.