by
Nick Nunes
O ur health is precious to us. The prospect of some silent and debilitating occurrence happening within our bodies which is detrimental to our quality of life or deprives us of that life is one of the most daunting prospects of participating in life itself.
Henderson Lewis is 58 years old and hasn’t worked since he had his stroke. Three years ago, Lewis was min ding his own business and carrying on with his life just as he would on any other day of routine until something silently crept up on him from within and changed his life.
He recounts “It happened on the 16th of February 2018; that was when I had the stroke. I still get a little problem in my hand and my walking isn’t a hundred per cent yet.”
According to the World Health Organisation, “Stroke is the brain’s equivalent of a heart attack. Blood must flow to and through the brain for it to function. If its flow is obstructed by a blood clot moving to the brain or by narrowing or bursting of blood vessels, the brain loses its energy supply, causing damage to tissues leading to stroke. Annually, 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke. Of these, 5 million die and another 5 million are left permanently disabled.”
The classic signs of a stroke can be varied in degree of intensity, but tell-tale signs include an inability to move or feel on one side of the body, problems understanding or speaking, dizziness, or loss of vision to one side.
If stroke symptoms last for less than two hours, they are usually referred to as a transient ischemic attach (TIA) or a mini-stroke. What can bring on such a deleterious event? High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke. Other important factors include tobacco smoking, obesity, high blood cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, a previous TIA, end-stage kidney disease, and atrial fibrillation.
“I’m not a doctor, but I will tell you that, in my opinion, I was always good. I never was sick. You have your little coughs once in a while, but that’s it,” said Lewis.
“I was a minibus driver. I was working one day and I told myself, ‘you know, my leg feeling a little strange’. When I got to Bayfield, St Philip, I stopped the van where I usually turn around and I got out to walk around because my foot was numb, but I thought it was just a cramp,” Lewis recalled.
He continued to illustrate the slowrising severity of that day. “I just thought that because the drive from Bridgetown to Bayfield was long that my foot had gone numb with a cramp. So, I got out and started shaking it and shaking it but it wasn’t getting any better. It was my whole leg that was numb. I went to Six Roads to see a doctor and I told her what happened.
“She told me to give her a minute. When she came back she asked me if I was driving the bus outside and I said yes. She told me to leave that bus right there and that we had to get someone to carry me to the hospital because she thinks I’m having a stroke,” said Lewis.
A partner of Henderson Lewis, who also drives a bus, came and took him in the middle of his stroke down to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Recollecting the events after the journey down from St Philip, Lewis asserted, “I was able to walk good and, when we got to QEH, I saw a sign that said, ‘If you think you’re having a stroke, talk to the nurse’. So, I went straight and talked to a nurse and gave her all the information that she asked for and she told me to go and sit down and wait to be called.”
It was a long time before Henderson Lewis was seen by a physician. While he waited, he thought about the sign telling him to speak to the nurse immediately and that he had been sitting down, waiting, for quite a while. He was eventually brought to a ward but by that time he was limping on the leg that was initially just numb and his arm was becoming stiff.
“While I was waiting, I realised my left hand was moving a little slower. I felt that I needed urgent attention but I don’t want to blame anyone. At that point, I had my wife with me and I told her that I just wanted to leave but she told me no,” he recited without a hint of reverie.
Trudging through his tale, Lewis said, “I was admitted to a ward but they told me they didn’t have any beds so I just had sit down in a chair. I sat there for two days. After everything that happened and the time, I can’t even remember what the doctor said.”
Today, Lewis still has trouble with the dexterity of his hand and sometimes finds himself dragging his foot, rather than fully being able to step forward. But he’s never been deterred from recovery and the journey he is on.
Lewis gave insight to the plight of those recovering from a stroke.
“You know, sometimes when someone sees you dragging your foot and they tell you to stop dragging your feet? I always answer, ‘You ever had a stroke?’ “A stroke is a terrible thing,” he added. “When you’re accustomed to doing something for all your years and then you have to relearn how to do them and keep turning your mind over,” he continued.
Physical therapy is one of the most important parts, maybe the most important part, of recovering from something as debilitating as a stroke. But it’s also heavily dependent on the will to survive and to reach for something more than survival – a way back to thriving.
For Lewis, the road to recovery is helped by the roads he knows well. “I live in Sargeant Street. It’s not far from Bath if you’re driving, but it’s a good 20 or 30 minutes if you’re walking. I find myself walking down and back home to get exercise. I tell myself that what happened has happened already and you just got to do what you’ve got to do to get back.”
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados has been a shining beacon on Henderson Lewis’ road to recovery. In the beginning of his journey back from his stroke, their facilities with stationary bicycles and treadmills were a great help to finding his way back to his old footing.
“You have to realise that the process is a long one. I understand that part so I work and continue to hope. In my opinion, coming back from a stroke is mostly a mental battle. If I’m ever talking to someone else that is recovering from a stroke and they say they can’t do it, I tell them, ‘get that can’t out of your head,’” declared Lewis.
