Spots Like Me

When I saw the video of on-air reporter, Serene Branson, attempting to speak during a segment leading into the Grammy Awards, I saw something that struck very close to home. That "gibberish" that came out of her mouth made me flashback to the day when I began speaking that way—the day I thought I was having a stroke.


My blog name, Spots On The Brain, comes from my very own spots on the brain that were discovered in an MRI almost four years ago. Lillian was just three months old at the time and I had just returned to work after my maternity leave. On the way home one day, I stopped at Petsmart to buy some kitty litter. As I walked through the aisle, my left foot became numb. I tried stomping at it—thinking it had to be asleep—but a rush of panic swept inside me. Where was the pins-and-needles feeling?

I picked up the litter and began walking to the check out. The numbness left my foot but was now traveling up my leg. Suddenly it felt like a bowling ball hand landed in my stomach. What was going? As the numbness started to travel up, my brain started screaming, "What if the numbness reaches my lungs and I stop breathing??" Maybe not the most rational thought in the world, but I was just focused on being able to swipe my debit card without keeling over with all those birds and snakes watching me, not knowing what was wrong.

I didn't want to burden anyone in the store so I did the logical thing by leaving. I managed to walk to my car and call James. He told me to come home. Luckily the numbness hadn't quite reached my driving foot—at this time it was more my mouth and tongue. I managed to get myself home without crashing the car.

I get home and soon my words became gibberish. I had very coherent thoughts in my head but was unable to vocalize them. It was a feeling of complete fear. James would say, "What's your daughter's name?" and I couldn't say it. I wanted to and desperately tried to, but could not even say the name of my little baby.

During the next month or so, I had similar episodes that followed a pattern of traveling numbness, incoherent speech, nausea and vomiting, and an intense, stabbing headache. I underwent a CT scan and MRI that resulted in a misdiagnosis of MS (lesions or spots as I call them are found in MS brain scans but also people who suffer from migraines). Luckily, that was a very short lived diagnosis and it became clear that I suffered from what was indeed migraines with neurological auras. I've had migraines before but never had I experienced an aura and debilitating headaches like the ones I had while trying to figure all this out.

Seeing that video, I had to wonder if Ms. Branson has also had a migraine after doctors did not seemed concerned about a stroke.
Sadly, many accused this reporter as simply being a blond, of flubbing her lines and trying to cover, of being drunk, and countless other ridiculous theories. But for anyone who has suffered through a migraine knows how serious this condition is. Those of us who are in the unlucky minority of having auras (a distinctive sensation or visual disturbance that may signal the beginning of a migraine headache) know how scary they are and how scary it is to lose control.

"A migraine is not just a headache. It's a complicated brain event," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Andrew Charles, who examined Branson.

And as my sister said, "I bet she has spots on the brain too!"

A special thanks to Tracy Banks who is starting to help me edit some of my posts.  I tend to post with doing only spell check so I appreciate her assistance on this and many to come posts. If you like to write but hate to edit like me, Tracy can help you as well!