Tragedy avoided, Bullet dodged.

Monster almost had his lights put out permanently today.
When I came downstairs to wake him up this morning, there was no response from him to sight, sound, etc. Every breath he took ended with a cough and he seemed to be in a dream he couldn't wake up from. By all signs, he had a stroke. I did get one response, finally. When I put my hand to his head, he took it and patted it like he always does, so I knew he was mostly there inside. I phoned 911 and EMT's in Fire Rescue Red vans came and took him to the hospital. I gathered what I could, grabbed his wallet, dressed, and followed them. Found the room he was in, and told doctors what I knew about his medical history, habits, etc. First, the CAT scan showed nothing, which is common for new injuries/strokes. After that, as we waited for him to go in for a MRI, he started becoming more alert and able to respond to sight, sound, etc. He kept rubbing his hands together like he was trying to warm them or feel them. Before they wheeled him out for the MRI, he was able to say small phrases and answer questions with a simple "yes" or "no" but anything else he said was gibberish, like he was not quite finding the words that matched the thoughts. An hour later, after his MRI, he was mostly back, talking normally, and he had recovered the simple motor skills that had gone wonky.
After discussing test results, examining the MRI, and more questions, here is what the doctors believe happened: John had damaged (ruptured?) the interior carotid artery by coughing as long and as violently as he has for the past two nights. The tissue in the walls of the artery started separating like a sandwich and blood began to fill the area between tissue layers. Then, the artery began to close, cutting off circulation to the left side of his brain.
Fortunately, his blood pressure and blood flow regulated (how, I'm not quite sure) and blood flow was restored soon enough to prevent any real and permanent damage.
He's in a private room now. They have him on very strong blood thinners and will have to monitor healing. Hopefully, everything will eventually close up and seal itself with fibrous scar tissue. Hopefully, the scar tissue will not then close the artery. Hopefully, there will be no loose blood clots forming.
They plan to keep him in the hospital anywhere from five to ten days.

My head aches now. My stomach is queasy. I'm a bit dehydated. Going to bed now. Hopefully, we'll both feel better tomorrow morning.