DEAR DOCTOR K: My mother went to the hospital for what we all thought was a stroke, but the doctor said it was a TIA. What is a TIA? What does this mean for my mother's health?
DEAR READER: First, let me tell you about a patient. She was a woman in her 70s who was in good health. One day she was on a bus to the grocery store, a trip she had taken hundreds of times. Suddenly, she felt disconnected from the world. When she felt connected again, she realized she hadn't gotten off at the right stop. I'll come back to what happened to her later.