Stroke landed PG&E meteorologist’s wife in coma for 12 days. Here’s how she’s doing now

People continue to ask about my wife, Trish, who suffered a stroke in early February.

Well, here is the latest news on her recovery.

We recently traveled to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. There, neurosurgeon Dr. Alois Zauner performed a cerebral angiogram, a procedure used to image blood vessels in the brain.

Before the procedure, Trish was required to take a COVID-19 test when we arrived at Cottage Hospital. Thankfully, about 15 minutes later, we were told that her test was negative.

After the angiogram was completed, Trish received the best birthday gift you could ever hope for. The arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain that caused her stroke was gone.

An AVM is a snarled tangle of blood vessels that look a bit like spaghetti that can create various irregular connections between the arteries and veins. AVMs affect less than 1% of the population, and it is believed that most people are born with them.

Some neurologists describe AVMs as ticking time bombs because you do not know when they will rupture. But most do when a person is between the ages of 14 and 45 — in other words, in the prime of your life.

To allow Trish’s brain to heal, her medical team put her in a medically induced coma for 12 days, realizing that they would not know her condition until she woke up.

Over this period of unrelenting uncertainty, I commuted back and forth between Los Osos and Santa Barbara each day. I got to know every curve and bend on Highway 101.

Even though it was dry in February, the color of everything was different. The landscape was shades of gray until Trish woke up.

March was mostly wet, with periods of torrential downpours and low-elevation snow, but the commute was easier once I was able to speak with Trish on the phone before I left and after when I arrived home.

Familiar things on this commute lifted by spirits, such as the pair of peregrine falcons that nest on the large rock that separates the west and eastbound lanes of Highway 101 near Pismo Beach and especially my prayers to God.

On the day of Trish’s stoke, the CT scan revealed large amounts of bleeding on the left side of her brain. Consequently, she suffered paralysis on her right side of her body.

After Trish woke, however, it was clear that she did not lose any cognitive ability. She thought it funny that people kept asking her rhetorical questions with obvious answers.

Her tenacious spirit, combined with plenty of help from her medical team, has allowed her to walk again and participate in Zumba dancing with her BFFs.

Her strength and motion are gradually returning to her right arm and hand as the brain rewires itself. She should be back driving in a few months.

After reading emails and letters from other stroke victims, I realized how fortunate we were.

The most heart-wrenching stores that I received were from parents whose children suffered strokes while at college. Their friends thought they were intoxicated, and put them to bed to sleep it off, never to awaken.

I will always be thankful to Dr. Dugald Chisholm, the emergency room doctor at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. His quick action and diagnosis helped to save Trish’s life.

He got her on a helicopter to Santa Barbara within an hour. I will never forget his calm and reassuring manner, I held tight on his words during the first days at Cottage Hospital.

Dr. Alois Zauner and Dr. Robert Taylor repaired the AVM in Trish’s brain that caused her stroke. They are both brilliant doctors.

The medical team at Cottage told me Dr. Zauner is the best neurosurgeon on the West Coast. On our follow-up visits, he was kind, showed empathy and understanding, and clearly explained the long road to recovery. In my humble opinion, he is the best.

The nurses were also fantastic. I will never forget Stephanie from Santa Ynez. For 12 hours straight, she tapped on Trish’s cranial drain to keep it open, I would go to war with Stephanie by my side.

At nearby Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital, all her therapists and doctors were as good as you could hope for.

Physical therapist Melissa Flores was one of the most motivational persons I have ever met.

We were also blessed by Trish’s visitors. They made a huge difference. Sadly today, visitors are not allowed in most medical facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outpouring of love, prayers, and support from our Central Coast community was remarkable, and it helped. Maybe the most important lesson I learned from this experience is that love is much more powerful than hate.

Today, Trish is an outpatient at Dignity Health Rehabilitation Center in Arroyo Grande.

How to tell if a person is having a stroke

According to the American Stroke Association, there are two main types of stroke: ischemic (dry), due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding (wet). No two strokes are the same, and victims can suffer from both types.

By learning and sharing the FAST warning signs, you can save lives.

F: Face drooping

Does one side of the face droop, or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person's smile uneven or lopsided?

A: Arm weakness

Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S: Speech

Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.

T: Time to call 911

If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 911 and get them to the hospital immediately.

Other symptoms may include vertigo, imbalance, such as a one-sided arm or leg weakness; slurred speech or dysarthria; double vision or other vision problems; a sudden severe headache with no known cause, and nausea and/or vomiting. To learn more, please visit www.stroke.org.