Get your blood pressure checked!!!

[Towncrier]

A dear friend of mine lost his wife a week ago Sunday. She suffered a massive "bleed out" in her brain and went into a coma. Within 48 hours there was no sign of brain activity. She was pronounced dead on Wednesday. The doctors believe that the cause of the stroke was undiagnosed high blood pressure.

Marti was only 51 years old.

She leaves behind a grieving husband and three daughters, the youngest of whom is just shy of her 16th birthday. Her death is not only a great loss to family and friends, but also to the community in which she lived. She was very active in academics. Although she was not a teacher, she taught thousands of students through her involvement in the Future Problem Solvers, Odyssey of the Mind, and Science Olympiad programs. She actually headed up the Ohio FPS program. Even in death, she continued to give. Her kidneys and corneas will improve the quality of life for people that she will never know. She was one great lady. I saw Marti just three weeks ago, just after Christmas. I was dropping off a DVD project for them. Marti invited us in, but we were in a hurry, so we just said "hi". Had I forseen the events of the past month, we might have spent a little more time with Marti. I'm just glad that I got the chance to see her one last time.

Marti's memorial service was this past Monday. Over 400 people attended the memorial. Hymns were sung. Scripture was read. Words were spoken. And tears were shed. At the receiving line that followed the service, I kept looking around, half expecting to see Marti. It just didn't seem possible that she wasn't there.

Needless to say, there has been a lot more hugging around our home this past month. And a lot less taking for granted our short time together on Earth. I will continue to take my medications to keep my blood pressure in check, not so much for me, but for my family. And I urge each and every one of you who hasn't had a blood pressure checkup recently to make it a point to get it checked. There's been enough sadness and death here on the DIS. We don't need anymore.

 

[2bemarried]

so sorry to hear about your loss. Prayers are with you and the family.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sad indeed, TC. My prayers, good wishes are with Marti's family and friends, like you.

And a good heads up too, TC, we do need to take care of ourselves, not too hard to do what we can.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I'm so sorry, TC! Yes, EVERYONE should have their BP checked! I ran into trouble at the end of my pregnancy at the age of 34. As soon as that baby was delivered, they had me on BP meds. I've been taking them ever since. So don't think you have to be in your 50s or more to need it.

 

[4nana]

So very sorry to hear about your friend and my prayers to her loved ones. She sounds like a wonderful person and I am sure will be deeply missed.

Thank you for drawing attention that everyone should monitor their BP. As of late, I've read the health field is no longer considering 120/80 BP normal.....rather 110/70 is considered more healthy, which may put so many more at risk. I am border line, therefore my dr decided to started me on meds to be safe rather than sorry.

~ Sandie

 

[floridafam]

Sorry

 

[m&m's mom]

Great advice!
I am 38 and had no clue I had high blood pressure.
I donate blood regularly and had noticed it creeping up but passed it off as incorrect readings. I finally was refused as a donor because it was so high.
I am young (relatively and not overweight and have a history in my family of low blood pressure. I was shocked. I am now on a very low dose of BP meds.
The scary thing is I can feel absolutely no difference between when I take my meds. and when I forget. I guess that is why it is called the "silent killer".
Thanks for the reminder of how important it is for me to take care of this.

 

[Feralpeg]

I'm so sorry about your friend's wife. It sounds like she had an aneurysm that broke. My mother died of an aneurysm when I was 22 years old. She was only 49 at the time and had been in perfect health. She actually had very low blood pressure. Some people just have aneurysms. The doctor told us, at the time, that most people have them. Most of them never cause a problem. An aneurysm is just a weak area in a blood vessel. Unfortunately, if one breaks in the brain, the blood kills the brain cells. Mom had no warning. She bent over to pick something up and it broke when she stood up. Since her death, I've known 4 other people with brain aneurysms. Only one died. If they discover them, they can often remove them. The tendency toward them is hereditary. Both my brother and I have had CAT Scans to make sure that we don't have any.

Life is very tenuous. Considering everything that can go wrong, it is amazing that we live as long as we do.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Oh, TC, I'm sorry for your loss. I will say prayers for her family and yours.

 

[NHAnn]

TC~I'm very sorry for your loss.
You're right, lots of loss and sadness on the DIS these days
......and good reminders to take care of ourselves and cherish life.

I've always had BP on the low side....but my mom (always healthy and low BP) at 72 had a CVA due to a bleeding anuerysm, had surgery to "clip" that one (and another one that was ready to pop discovered during the CT scans), suffered a stroke during the brain surgery....
due to great care, strong will and the grace of God she survived and 5 years later is still making progress HER mom died at 72.....of a cerebral hemorrhage. Scary stuff.....

 

[nativetxn]

How sad I have this family in my prayers.

A sad but timely reminder about the blood pressure, John.

 

[Serena]

I'm sorry.