Highland resident Elizabeth Breslin woke up on the morning of April 7, 2016, and thought a balloon had popped in her eye. She tried to call out to her husband for help, but the words that came out didn’t make sense. She tried to get up, but couldn’t move her left side.
Within minutes, she was transported by ambulance to the Community Hospital Emergency Department, had a preliminary assessment and eye exam in the ambulance, and once at the hospital, was heading for a CT scan.
“The entire Stroke Care team was waiting for me – my neurologist was there, my team of nurses, the radiologist,” 62-year old Breslin says. “They saved my life because they knew everything to do. My stroke happened at about 6:10 am. I was at the hospital and received tPA by 6:50 am. By 11 am, my nurse Karen asked me to describe a series of pictures and I could answer her and began to move my fingers. I was admitted to Neuro IMCU for five days. Then I began rehab. I have no side effects now, none.”
I will tell everybody I know, I just had a stroke and look at me,” she says. “I’m back to volunteer work for the Council for Community Events in Highland.”
Liz was in the right place at the right time for her stroke care. For more information about how the hospitals of Community Healthcare System help people through stroke and recovery, click here.