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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
16 Wednesday, October 12, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Sisters woman saved by TIA On Monday, September 19, 46-year-old Sisters resi- dent Rhonda Funk suddenly began stumbling over her words during a lunch meet- ing with a client. She found herself putting the back of the words to the front of the words, saying things out of order, and had words coming out that she didn’t even want to say. Frustrated, she stopped and look at her client and asked, “Am I even making sense?” Little did she know, Funk was suffering a transient isch- emic attack (TIA), which according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association is often labeled “mini-stroke,” more accurately characterized as a “warning stroke” — a warn- ing you should take very seriously. “Don’t overlook the sig- nals your body sends,” says Funk, “and don’t fall into … thinking you are too young or too healthy.” Fortunately, her client, Bend resident Nita Belles (human trafficking expert and founder of In Our Backyard), the mother of Resident Volunteer Andy Belles at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District, was pretty savvy about the nature of the events taking place. “She immediately opened up her computer and searched tests you can perform to see if someone might be having a stroke,” said Funk. “She had me put my arms above my head, roll my tongue, say cer- tain words, and to be honest, I thought she was crazy! I even laughed and said that I was passing all her stupid tests and insisted there was no way I was having a stroke!” For a good 30 minutes, Funk continued to mix up her words. However, still frus- trated that she felt fine and clearly knew what was going on around her, Funk declined the urgings of Belles to call 911. “I am pretty strong-willed. But, after about an hour and a half, even I began to wonder what was happening,” Funk explained. “As I walked to my car I called my husband Willie, still struggling to get my words out correctly. He immediately left work, and I went home to lay down real- izing that a dull headache was forming across the back of my SHIBUI DETOX PROGRAM - JAN. 19-29 Sign up with a friend and you receive a 10% discount * SPA AT FI V E P I N E Mention this ad to receive discount* Call for info, 541-549-6164 720 Buckaroo Trail, Sisters head.” Funk then made a post on Facebook to her friends can- celing a live health-coaching event she was going to be having the next hour, explain- ing to her friends that she had a ‘little episode’ at lunch which affected her speech. It was then that dozens more people urged her to get the emergency room immedi- ately. That urging pushed her to call her doctor’s office who asked her to get to the Fire Department, Urgent Care, or the ER. “It’s sad when you start to make your decisions by how much each one will cost,” says Funk, whose family has been uninsured for several months due to the shift of providers available to Deschutes County and Oregon residents, along with the grossly increased costs to pay for premiums. “I literally was trying to decide where to go for care accord- ing to what would impact our finances the least. I had a feel- ing I should go straight to the ER, but we choose Urgent Care” — where they didn’t even ask her name after hear- ing of her symptoms, instead pointing her straight to the emergency room. Once there, the doctor told Funk that she could be having a migraine event, however, he was not willing to risk her future on it—and urged Funk to get an MRI. Within the hour, the images revealed a 33mm mass lodged deep in the left side of her brain that was nearly 10-times larger than the average aneurysm, (normally 3-7 mm, roughly the size of a pea, Funk’s aneu- rysm was about an inch wide). Doctor’s believed at first this could have been some- thing Funk was born with, until they learned of a large infection she had suffered in 2010 from a simple razor nick under her arm that formed overnight into a massive staph infection. “A baseball-sized infec- tion had formed under my arm which was a super scary and painful infection,” explains Funk. “It is that infection doctors now believe sent staph raging through my sys- tem, which likes to hide in the valves of your heart. The most-likely cause of my aneu- rysm is that a piece of that infection broke off from my heart, lodged into a vein in PHOTO PROVIDED Rhonda Funk was surprised by the result of tests. my head, and abscessed. It has been growing and forming for over six years. “I have been a ticking time bomb and didn’t even know it until two weeks ago. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t gone to the emergency room that day. I am praising God for the warning sign.” On Tuesday, September 27, on their 19th wed- ding anniversary, the Funks See FUNK on page 23 Shibui Let the change of seasons guide you into a healthy change at Shibui Spa in Sisters. Now is the time to sign up for the 2017 10-Day Detox Program. Let Shibui coach you through this 10-day program and show you how easy it is to learn to incorporate good habits into your everyday routine all year long. Jump-start your 2017 with a winter yoga retreat right here in Sisters. Join Shibui for four days and three nights of active fun, restful contemplation, and connecting to nature, all from the comfort of FivePine Lodge. Winter Wellness Wednesdays start January 4. That means Shibui will be offering loyal clients a special price each Wednesday. Help someone who needs the healing touch of massage through the Gift of Giving Back Program. Recommend a person in your life that would ben- efit by this gift by sending a narrative of their story to info@shibuispa.com. www. s hi bui s pa . c om Acupuncture Chinese/Western Herbology Massage Therapy Nutritional Counseling Sisters Acupuncture Center Greg Wieland L.Ac. 541-549-1523 | 352 E. Hood Ave., Ste. E State Licensed & Nationally Certifi ed — Since 1989 — Sisters Acupuncture For 20 years, Greg Wieland has been helping folks in Sisters live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Many, many people have benefitted from his insight into the root causes of what is making them get sick or feel run down, tired, and just not at their best. Acupuncture remains a centerpiece of his prac- tice, but over the years Greg has evolved a high level of capability in nutritional counseling and treat- ment of dysbiosis of the gut that can create so many of the ailments that plague us. The gut is often referred to as the “second brain,” and when things aren’t right with it, dysfunction can manifest not only as stomach discomfort, but in a wide range of ailments of the whole body. Greg Wieland is intimately familiar with the means of improving function and wellness through practices of Eastern medicine that, more than sim- ply treating symptoms, help enable the body to truly be well.