Jakarta –
The real proof that a stroke can strike at any time is Edwin Hartanu (42), a man from Palembang, South Sumatra (South Sumatra). Edwin is a stroke survivor who had his first stroke at the age of eight.
“So there is no feeling (symptoms) of anything,” Edwin said, recounting his experience when he first had a stroke, when he met detik.com in West Jakarta on Tuesday (8/11/2022 ).
A stroke attacked Edwin when he was attending Catholic Elementary School (SD) 3, Jl. WR Supratman, Samarinda, East Kalimantan (East Kalimantan) 34 years ago on Saturday (8/27/1988 to be exact). When he was following a math lesson, his right hand suddenly went limp and he couldn’t move it.
Edwin was then brought to the UK by his school teacher. A few minutes later, he immediately lost consciousness.
“Apparently the teacher called my parents and I was unconscious for two days,” Edwin said.
Upon regaining consciousness, Edwin was told by his parents that the right side of his body was paralyzed. The incident occurred in 1988, when medical technology was not yet sophisticated, especially in Samarinda. Therefore, he was taken to Jakarta.
He underwent treatment with a neurologist, Dr. Priguna Sidharta. According to Dr Sidhartha, Edwin’s disease was a rare disease, so he was taken to Singapore for further treatment.
Cerebral aneurysm
It is known that the cause of the stroke he suffered was a brain aneurysm. A brain aneurysm is a balloon-shaped swelling that forms in a blood vessel in the brain. From the CT scan results, the blood vessels in Edwin’s brain have burst.
Twice a year he travels regularly to Singapore for treatment. Edwin performed an angiography and an embolization procedure. Angiography is a type of medical imaging that uses X-rays to check the condition of blood vessels. While embolization is a medical procedure used to treat various health problems by cutting off blood flow to certain areas and usually more often in the arteries.
“After I get embolized, every school vacation (SD) until middle school vacation, I keep checking to go there (Singapore),” Edwin said.
Contacted separately, a neurologist at Pondok Indah Hospital (RSPI) South Jakarta, Rubiana Nurhayati, explained that an aneurysm is usually a congenital or congenital disease. An aneurysm can rupture at any time, even without symptoms.
“He (aneurysm) can rupture at any moment without needing a trigger,” Rubiana said on Thursday (10/11/2022).
Often sufferers are unaware of the disease. This disease can only be detected through a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) examination, which is an X-ray examination that uses special magnetic resonance imaging for blood (vascular) vessels.
“So we can prevent this aneurysm if we already know about it,” Rubiana said.
