Where Would You Take Your Father for Emergency Medical Care?

When Al Partoll, 72, unexpectedly suffered a stroke in his Bonita Bay home last year, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) driver asked his wife Sharon where she’d like them to take her husband of 46 years.  Not familiar with our local health care facilities, she asked the driver “where would you take your father?” Lights glowing and sirens roaring, the ambulance sped off to the helipad at Bonita Beach Road to transport Al to the Stoke Unit at Lee Memorial Health System.

Sharon and a neighbor met up with Al in the emergency room minutes later.  Doctors there performed a brain scan.  And then the first critical decision came – whether to give Al an injection of a clot busting drug or not.  The risks outweighed the benefits in Sharon’s mind and they opted out.

“Every step of the way I was included in my husband’s care,” said Sharon, a former teacher and political activist.  “This was just not something I was prepared for in any way.”

Sharon says she came to the emergency room with every intention of having Al transferred to the medical center in metropolitan New York where they’ve always received their care.

“We have had only the finest medical care at our fingertips when living in the northeast,” Sharon said.  “There was no doubt in my mind that is where my husband needed to go.”

What Sharon knows now is that the Stroke Unit now located at Gulf Coast Medical Center is the region’s most advanced center for patients experiencing stroke.  In fact, Lee Memorial Health System and Gulf Coast Medical Center treated 1,063 stroke patients last year alone.

Al, a retired attorney with a 33 year career at AT&T, was suddenly incapacitated and he was in denial.  But there was no denying his slurred speech.  Sharon called 911 and when the emergency technicians arrived, they confirmed the couple’s fears and Sharon’s keen suspicion, Al was having a stroke and needed medical intervention quickly.

Stroke, which cuts off blood flow and oxygen to the brain, is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death, according to the National Stroke Association. Recognizing symptoms and acting fast to get medical attention is essential to saving a life and limiting disabilities.

Sharon says once they arrived at the hospital, the hospital staff’s care and concern for the patient was extraordinary.  “And I’m very critical,” she said.  “The staff, every last one of them, was outstanding and professional.”

A few days later, Al’s speech started to return.  With a long road of physical therapy and occupational therapy ahead, Al was discharged from the hospital and the couple went home to a house full of family.  Their two children and grandchildren had arrived for a planned vacation.

“It’s amazing how much the children helped during the initial recovery time,” Sharon said.  “The youngest grandchild sat on grandpa’s lap helping with his speech therapy asking Al to repeat ‘How Now Brown Cow?’ over and over again.”

The Partolls continued trips to Lee Memorial Health System for outpatient physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy for several months.  And since his stroke, Al has also been admitted to Gulf Coast Medical Center for an episode of syncope this past April.

“The new hospital is a technological marvel,” Sharon said.  “It is organized and everyone worked as a team to provide my husband’s care.”

Sharon says that as the spouse, one sees it more clearly than when you’re the patient and often times numb to what’s happening around you.

When asked for words of advice to others, Sharon and Al both spoke up,
“Get a doctor, check out the area hospitals, learn more about your community’s medical care,” they said.

“We were fortunate,” Sharon said with a chuckle.  “We are so glad our EMS driver liked his father and would bring him to Lee Memorial Health System!”