在高尔夫球场上晕眩，牧师中风了，花了好几天才诊断出来

去年7月的一天，尼克·里德(Nick Reed)在去高尔夫球场的路上感到很不舒服.

He figured it had to do with the heat advisory in place. 不过，他皮卡车里的空调应该有帮助.

当他到达第一个发球台时，里德感到有点头晕. He had tunnel vision. He chalked it up to dehydration and started chugging water.

The first four holes went surprisingly well. On the fifth, he nearly made a hole-in-one. Then he fainted.

当他的伙伴们围着他时，尼克坚持说:“我很好，我很好." But he was too dizzy to walk.

His friends took him back to the clubhouse. 尼克失去了平衡，只得爬进大楼.

Someone gave him water and a sandwich. After one bite, he started vomiting.

His head was pounding. 他以前也有偏头痛，但这次严重得多. An intense pressure built in the back of his head.

"This isn't getting better," he said. "Let's call 911."

They called for an ambulance and alerted his wife, Rachel. What really scared her was the fact that Nick, who was not one to ask for help, had requested the ambulance.

At the hospital, he was given an IV for hydration. A CT scan showed no issues. Although 38-year-old Nick was still in pain and dizzy, Rachel took him back to their home in Glendale, California, 12 hours later.

Nick was in so much pain he couldn't sleep. Rachel had never seen him so uncomfortable.

"I think we need to go to the ER again," she told him. He insisted on toughing it out.

第二天早上，他的头继续砰砰作响，而且极度眩晕. He went to urgent care. A doctor didn't seem to think it was anything serious. He gave Nick pain medication and sent him home.

That afternoon, Rachel noticed Nick's chest heaving. He was struggling to breathe.

She called 911. 医护人员把他送到了一家有综合中风中心的医院, which has more specialized staff and treatment options.

在他接受了CT扫描后，一位医生冲进候诊室和瑞秋说话. 她告诉她，尼克要么得了严重的中风，要么长了一个很大的肿瘤. He needed surgery immediately.

A nurse told Rachel, "You should have someone with you and prepare yourself, because he might not make it."

在尼克的大脑内部，医生不仅发现了一个血块，还发现了由血栓引起的液体积聚. His brain also was swollen, mostly around the cerebellum, 大脑控制平衡和平衡的部分.

两天后，当尼克醒来时，他做的第一件事就是扭动他的脚. He waved to Rachel when she came in to see him. 护士们让她去候诊室，他们正在给她做脑功能测试.

She felt sick to her stomach with fear. 然后他们带着检查结果回来了:“看起来他会完全康复的."

That afternoon, with a tube for breathing still down his throat, 尼克拿起一支记号笔和一块白板，开始问问题, a great sign that his brain was working.

While he made good progress, he felt weak and vulnerable. 这个看起来不太可能拨打911的人也不喜欢他所需要的所有照顾.

作为一名牧师，当医院的牧师过来为他祈祷时，尼克感到很尴尬. But, Nick said, "that was a real comfort." They bonded and remain in touch.

在接下来的几个月里，尼克接受了各种各样的检查，以确定病因. None could be found. 10月下旬，他重新开始讲道，并希望很快再次开始打高尔夫球.

Before returning to work, Nick, 瑞秋和他们的四个女儿向帮助救了他的医院工作人员和急救人员表示敬意.

“我真的很想和他们握手，说声谢谢，”他说. "They're in a line of work where they see a lot of death. I wanted them to see the difference."

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.