Sirens

(Editor’s Note: The following is the third chapter from Jared’s book It’ll Buff Out.)

Chapter 3: Sirens

In-Law’s House

Thornton, Colorado September 17, 2006

S-T-R-O-K-E. Using my one good hand, I slowly thumbed the correct letters for what I thought I was experiencing.

Numbness on one side of my body. Check.

Slurred speech. Check and check.

I was having a stroke at thirty years old.

Footsteps thudded behind me.

“Igh habinga stroke,” I mush-mouthed to the footsteps.

“Huh?” came the response from Kevin, my father-in-law.

“Stroke, caw nime-wum-wum,” I said, trying to make the right sounds.

“Holy shit,” Kevin said and pulled out his phone.

I heard him talking, but everything faded. It was like it was happening in slow motion and my vision had the odd, distorted feeling like looking down into the shallows of a murky lake.

The voice in my head continued to chime, “Stay calm.”

Meditation was something I had been trying out prior to my stroke. I fell into a meditation of sorts trying to shut out the pain.

Sirens wailed nearby. Time was of the essence. I knew things were bad, but that little voice told me I had to stay awake and stay calm.

Paramedics rushed in and began asking me questions.

Mushing words around in my mouth, I successfully butchered every part of the English language with ease.

“Can you stand up?” one paramedic asked.

What a ridiculous question! Of course I can stand up was what I wanted to say.

“Law,” I responded instead and went to get up. And just as fast as I went up, I went back down, but not before the medic who asked the question caught me before I fell to the ground like a sack of dildos.

I was hoisted onto the gurney and strapped down.

The entire left side of my body was numb, completely limp. I couldn’t control or feel any of it. And the pain in my head was relentless.

“He’s having a stroke. We need to get him to an ER so we can figure out what kind before we give him any pain meds or a clot buster,” the medic said more to Kevin than to me.

They wheeled me out and put me into an ambulance. Little did I know then, but that was the most expensive cab ride of all time.

Once I was in the ambulance, I thought, I hope this ambulance driver is better than I had been for Utley.

__________________________

Jared Prewitt is a husband, father, marine, author, carpenter/teacher/coach, and lover of great stories. 

Jared was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He participated in the Battle of Ramadi (Iraq) as a Designated Marksman from 2006-2007 and as a Squad Leader in the Battle of Garmsir (Afghanistan) in 2008. 

After being honorably discharged in 2009 having served five years, Jared moved to Colorado and married in 2011. He has a Bachelor’s in Business and a Masters in Writing. You can find him bowling, golfing, camping, hunting, or fishing when he’s not around his family. 

Check out his other work on Instagram @cold_steel_collective or at www.jareprewittwritesstuff.com. 

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.

Book synopsis for It’ll Buff Out:

Jared Prewitt grew up a sheltered MidWest kid. 

Seeking adventure and a taste of what his grandfather endured as a soldier in General Patton’s Third Army during World War II, he joined the Marines in 2004 as Iraq ignited into all-out war.

The Battle of Ramadi would forever change Jared’s life and set him down a path of strife and survival. 

From explosions and gun fights to blood clots and panic attacks, nothing is hopeless. 

It’ll Buff Out is a story about the revival of a war-torn city and the human spirit.