Blood, Sweat & Tea, page 79 by Tom Reynolds
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hat you are going to encounter.
We were met by the woman's husband who led us through to the bedroom where our patient lay. She was on the bed and was not talking to anyone; with one hand she was 'fidgeting' and plucking at her clothes. This was normal for her, and could be due to the antipsychotics she uses to treat her schizophrenia. Looking at her prescription sheet we found out that she was also a diet-controlled diabetic, but her blood sugar test showed a normal amount of sugar in the blood. The patient was unable to talk, and looked very scared. Was this episode related to her schizophrenia?
Our physical exam however, showed a complete loss of function and muscle tone down the right side of her body; this led us to think that she had had a CVA, or stroke, and that this had affected her speech and muscle function. We rapidly removed her to hospital, and, to be honest, the job itself went like clockwork.
The thing that stays with you though, is her husband telling you that they have been married for 50years, and for the last 20 of them he has stuck by her while she was suffering first from manic depression and then schizophrenia. To have stayed by her side while she was under the shadow of these illnesses shows true love. Every so often, during the transport to hospital, her husband had to wipe a tear from his eye; he was sitting holding his wife's hand, trying to provide some comfort to her and ease the scared expression on her face.
If she survives the stroke she will probably be permanently disabled and will require quite intensive care for the rest of her life.
I think her husband will continue to stand by her.
In unrelated news... I was so tired driving home this morning that I took the wrong turning to go home and went down the wrong street. Aren't you glad I'm looking after the health and well-being of people?
Update on Last Posting
Lots of people want to know what happened to the lady in my previous post, so tonight I spoke to the nurse who was l