Mayor Alan Harrison is recovering well after suffering a stroke on Monday, March 9, a fact that makes him deeply grateful for all the fundraising work the community has done for a CT scan and upgrades.
Harrison went to his Oldtimers hockey game that morning.
“You go to hockey, you don’t think you’re going to have a stroke, that’s not the plan when you’re arriving there,” he remarks. “I was feeling 100 per cent when I got there.”
However, his body was not.
“It was very out of the blue,” he said of the stroke, which brought his teammates, Shaw Centre staff and an ambulance to work quickly to help him.
Harrison expresses his gratitude for the CT scan, which was purchased in 2008 and then upgraded in 2014.
“That well may have, if not saved my life, could have made a huge difference in my recovery.”
He explains that when you go to the hospital after a stroke, you’re immediately given a CT scan.
The reason that’s done, he said, is that there are two causes of a stroke, a blood clot in your brain or a bleed in your brain.
“If you have a blood clot in your brain like I did, they give you the clot blasting medication immediately. The sooner you get that after the event, the sooner you get back everything you’ve lost.”
He said it was just five minutes after he received the CT scan that he was given the medication. Within two hours he had recovered any “deficits,” as they’re called, produced by the stroke.
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Before Salmon Arm had a CT scan, a person with a stroke would be taken to Vernon or Kamloops for the scan, he said, meaning crucial time could be lost.
He said he and many others who have undergone the prompt care are really grateful to the hospital, the women’s auxiliary and many others who made it possible.
“It makes a difference, there’s no doubt about it.”
Harrison was released from hospital on Thursday. He said Friday that he was feeling a bit tired after the ordeal, but his brain is working perfectly and physically he’s perfectly well.
His blood is being tested to make sure it’s thinned to the correct point, which will happen over the next week or two. That will determine if he will be taking an aspirin or two a day or some other type of blood-thinning medication.
“I feel really fortunate,” he said, adding that he is very appreciative of all the people who reached out to him.
“I heard from many, many people. Best wishes and all those positive thoughts, for anyone in hospital, it helps for sure.”
Harrison said the doctors have laid out what he can and can’t do, and his wife Debbie is keeping him in line.
“My press secretary – my wife, is making sure I follow the things outlined. She’s been the gatekeeper over the past five days and has done a great job.”
He said there will be no hockey, no contact sports, no tennis for at least three weeks.
However he’s not going to waste any time starting back to work. Harrison said he feels very capable of chairing council’s planning and development services meeting on Monday. That won’t mean he will be jumping back in fully though. He will resume his duties gradually.
Asked if the busy Rogers Hometown Hockey played a part in his illness, he said he has no idea, but he certainly had a great time.
He said he is grateful that the stroke didn’t happen three weeks ago when he and Debbie were on holiday in the Serengeti in Africa.
“The result would have been completely different.”
As the partner of the person going through a stroke, he said Debbie has done a fantastic job, limiting screen time, visitors and more .
“She’s been full on,” he laughed.
He added: “When things like this happen, I feel really happy to live in a community like ours.”
marthawickett@saobserver.net
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