June 30 - Blind in Hospital

Life is full of surprises. Unfortunately, they aren’t all good surprises. Two weeks ago and out of the blue, I ended up in the emergency room of our local hospital. It turned out that I had had a small stroke.

God was looking after me that day. After an initial examination, I was sent on to the larger city hospital. The series of tests that followed – blood work, an ECG, a CT scan and an MRI – was all a bit of a blur. I didn’t have to think much – just go in whatever direction I was pushed. Lyle was with me when we met with the neurologist. It turned out that the stroke had seemingly only affected my speech. Within hours, I was admitted to the Stroke Ward. To be admitted so quickly was a miracle in itself.

For the next two days, I was monitored fairly closely. Each time there was a change in staff, Lyle was there to make sure that they knew of my sight challenges. It was too difficult to pin my low vision ID badge to my hospital gown and I didn’t need my white cane while I was in a wheel chair. We needed to advocate for ourselves if there was to be any special assistance.

On the third night, I was transferred to the Rehabilitation Unit. This was the most confusing part of my hospital stay. Lyle had gone home for the night and I was quite disoriented in my new surroundings. The next morning, I needed a guide to lead me to the dining area and find a vacant spot at a table. I felt helpless, a feeling I hadn’t experienced since my initial vision loss those many years ago now. It was a relief when Lyle arrived later in the morning to orient me to the new room. As I was now able to dress in street clothes, he also brought two of my ID badges and several of my cards with this blog address. With my new hesitant speech, I found it both difficult and exhausting to try to explain to staff that my vision loss had nothing to do with the stroke.

I am home again now and waiting to begin speech therapy. I also have several more medical appointments lined up. Hopefully the worst is over and I can begin recovery.

In retrospect, I am looking back to my hospital stay as an opportunity to educate hospital staff personnel – technicians, nurses and yes, even doctors – as to the need, challenges, and also the capabilities and abilities of someone who is visually impaired or legally blind. I hope that I have done a good job with this. Although I didn’t ask for this opportunity, I hope that in some small way I have paved the way for other blind or visually impaired people who might find themselves as hospital patients.