This is a recount of what happened to me. I do share some opinions of what happened but overall, but this is my experience.
On Sunday, April 5, 2020, I had spent the day with my hubby. We had gone to Blythe Landing on Lake Norman, one of our favorite spots. He had stopped for a burrito at Chipolte, but I felt funny and didn't want anything. I didn't feel bad, just funny. No big deal.
When we came home, I put a roast with potatoes and carrots in the InstaPot and dinner was all set. Around 5:45 pm, it was time to set the table for dinner, make the gravy and call the crew. As I attempted to get up off my chair to do just that, I felt extremely dizzy and my legs went very weak. I had to sit back down. At that moment, my son Marty came downstairs and offered to set the table. I tried to talk to him but my words were slurred. I tried to stand up but I couldn't. Something was wrong. Marty ran and got David, my hubby, his dad, and told him what was going on.
He said, "She's having a stroke! Help me get her to the car!" He got my other son, Myles, and he and Marty escorted me to the car. By this time, my words were no longer slurred and could walk fairly well with assistance.
We got to the urgent care center and I had to check myself in because David was not allowed in with me due to a viral outbreak. They finally took me to a room and ran a bunch of tests, but the tests were inconclusive so they said they wanted to admit me to the hospital where better tests could be run. I was alone except when someone came in to adjust something or run a test. I had a video consult with a doctor and by this time I could walk and talk just fine, even going to the bathroom alone. The doctor said he thought I had a stroke but was sending me to the hospital for confirmation, etc.
The only way to the hospital was by ambulance so I had to wait for that. I waited over and hour and was very hungry by this time. We had gotten there around 6:00 pm and it was now 9:00 pm. I asked for some food; a nurse found a frozen breakfast sandwich and microwaved it. It was very soggy. I couldn't eat it.
Finally the ambulance came and two very nice young women took me to the hospital. We chatted on the way and they complained about wearing masks and I told them God loves them.
David ran home and got a few of my things and tried to meet me at the hospital. He was stopped at the door where they told him he could not come in because of the virus and they would take my things and see that I got them. The room number he was given turned out to be wrong but my things did eventually find me.
I got to my room and was met by a male nurse who said he was my nurse for the night. He told me how lucky and fortunate I was to be walking and talking so well after a stroke. He told me how grateful I should be. Then he left the room and I never saw him again.
They gave me blood pressure medicine since my blood pressure was high. I was walking and talking easily and really just wanted something to eat. They found me a couple graham crackers. That was it. I was so looking forward to breakfast, which I ordered easily on the phone. My talking was fine by then.
The next morning, I was taken out of my room in a wheelchair to go for tests. I had an ultrasound of my neck, an ekg, and 2 MRIs. I was gone for two hours. I was so looking forward to breakfast when I got back to my room; by this time I was super hungry.
I got back to my room and there was no breakfast. I called the nurse's station and asked about breakfast and they told me breakfast was over! I told her I needed food and she said she'd try to find me something. She brought a small box of cereal and some milk, but no spoon and no bowl. When I told her I needed a spoon at the very least, she brought a styrofoam cup and a plastic spoon. By that time the milk was rather warm and I couldn't eat it. I was so looking forward to lunch.
Besides the blood pressure medication, the doctor had me taking an antibiotic for a suspected "UTI" which I questioned but was told he felt sure I had one. I had never had a UTI in my entire life. But, having no one there to advocate for me, and dealing with the confusion of having had a stroke, I took it. It made me very sick and I was too nauseated to eat for my entire hospital stay.
After my morning of tests, nothing happened, I was alone except for someone taking my vitals every four hours. My husband could not be with me. I was alone and they kept my door shut because of the virus. I was completely isolated and was not allowed to leave my room,
They did not change my bedding one time while I was in the hospital. They did not give me a bath towel or clean out the shower for me to use (it was being used to store a bunch of stuff). I felt abandoned. A lady did come and quickly cleaned the bathroom sink at one point.
So, they kept me for a few days, even though I felt fine and wanted to go home. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, they said I could go home the next day.
Tuesday night, in the middle of the night, I woke up with a start. I was shivering out of control so I called the nurse. I couldn't talk on the speaker to tell her what was wrong so she came to my room. I was very confused, was shivering and suddenly couldn't talk. I tried to tell the nurse something was wrong but she wouldn't listen. She checked the thermostat in my room and it said 55 degrees! I tried to tell her to please turn it up but she would not and said that "you get too warm." I tried to tell her something was wrong because I could hardly talk and she got up in my face and said, A "You brought this on yourself! Calm down or I'm going to give you some medication that will calm you down!"
Then I feared and said nothing more. In my mental state, I felt trapped. I suddenly couldn't talk to make my needs known and no one would listen, I know I could have called another nurse but I'd just had a stroke and was confused. I decided to say nothing more and just go home the next day. I needed an advocate.
When I got up the next morning, I had trouble walking. I was still shivering and could not stop. I made my way to the bathroom and got that done. I noticed when I tried to take my pills, I had trouble swallowing the water they gave me. I told her it was because I was shivering. She believed me.
A physical therapist came in to make sure I could go home. My actions did not match up with a previous physical therapy report; I was much worse. I told her it was because I was shivering and she believed me.
Next, the doctor, a neurologist, came in my room. He asked if I was ready to go home and I nodded. I tried to talk a little, but I couldn't talk. He looked at me and asked what was wrong and I struggled to say it's because I'm cold and shivering, He shrugged and signed the papers for me to go home.
I went home. I could barely walk and could hardly talk,
I started physical therapy the next day.
The doctors had me go to a speech therapist. I needed my husband to help communicate with her. Not allowed. I struggled the entire time. She was wearing gloves, a long-sleeved gown, a mask and a big shield over her face. She tested my swallowing. She worked on her keyboard for a long time with those gloves on, then started to open a pack of graham crackers for me with those same gloves on. I stopped her and told her I would open my own crackers because I didn't know where those gloves had been or how long she'd been wearing them. I opened my own crackers while she promptly changed gloves. As a matter of fact, once she was aware, she changed her gloves 3 times while I was with her.
She offered me NO speech help whatsoever. She handed me a paper that was printed before I arrived. She asked me repeatedly if I was being abused. I left there with no help for my speech and she said he did not need to see me again. I was on my own.
I found a speech therapist on YouTube who was a tremendous help to me.
A few weeks later, I had an appointment with the neurologist. During that visit, I told him what happened at the hospital; that the nurse threatened me and made me feel unsafe. His response was that he does not deal with hospital staff; that's left to others.
I filled out the hospital survey of my stay and gave them very negative points. It was awful. They had a policy that patient room doors had to remain closed and no one was allowed in, so I was isolated in a room with a closed door with no one to help me for 3 1/2 days. I could not wait to get home.
My recovery is going well. I had the best physical therapists you could find and they tailored my care to me, helping me recover "faster than they'd ever seen." I was so thankful for them!
I will never go back to that hospital for anything ever again. CaroMont Regional Medical Center. Every single nurse and CNA I saw complained about wearing a mask and they all touched it constantly. I was isolated from anyone who cared and spent all my time alone, too nauseated to eat. They would come in every 4 hours, take my vitals in a hurry and quickly leave all while complaining about the mask.
Overall, I lost 35 pounds after this stroke. That, and meeting my physical therapists, was the good things that came out of this. At this writing, I am 95% recovered. I still struggle to type. I went from typing 90 wpm to about 30 wpm so that's a challenge still. But, I'll get there.
Thanks for reading to the end and for caring.
~Tricia
