Illness strikes the Ark

i told you recently of my painful attack of shingles three weeks ago.. Well now something even more serious has occurred, which has knocked us both back, as the Aussies say.
   On Tuesday, I noticed my left hand was feeling weak, it had a tendency to slip off the steering wheel as I drove. I wasn't much worried, the shingles have thrown up odd symptoms from time to time. The next morning it was obvious it was something serious, I could scarcely walk and as I staggered and tried to support myself with my left hand, it didn't work at all, and I collapsed onto a heap of bags. Kim tried to ring our doc but it was too early and she rang the 15 emergency number, who didn't muck about  but sent an ambulance straightaway to take me to Niort hospital. Loads of tests, including a scanner in the afternoon seemed to indicate I had suffered a small stroke affecting my arm, hand and to a lesser degree, my leg, all on my left side. I have spent five days in the Neurology dept being stabilised and have now been transferred to a rehabilitation unit Grand Feu for work to try to restore movement to my members.
  As you can imagine this has deeply shocked us both but we are trying to make the best of it. At least we get first class ,prompt treatment here and our Carte Vitale and Mutuelle will cover the high cost so it's not all bad. It's Kim I feel sorry for, she is left to cope with running the house and animals and driving to Niort each day. She has been a brick, always cheerful and encouraging.
   Bye for now, bit tired after the transfer.nice to be back on line, though!