COMMUNITY: Sharp Hospital saves lives

Grateful Patient Thanks Caregivers

in More Ways an One

By Kris Grant

The precious words that every doctor wants to hear — “ ank you for saving my life” — were recently spoken to Dr. Gregory Apel, emergency room medical director at Sharp Coronado Hospital, by patient Linda Wheeler during a visit to their Emergency Department (ED) earlier this fall.

Back in February of this year, Linda became a patient at Sharp Coronado Hospital a er being taken to the ED by an ambulance. She was checked in as “Jane Doe” a er being found by two women who had spotted her collapsed, on the third- oor stairwell at a nearby apartment complex. ey immediately called 9-1-1. Linda had no identi cation on her, yet it was vital that the emergency team overseeing her care learned who she was quickly.

“I knew we had to act fast, as I had diagnosed her as having an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a clot blocking the blood supply to the brain,” said Dr. Apel. “I wanted to administer a tPA — which is an intravenous medicine given to a patient that can break up blood clots. is would limit the risk of damage or functional impairment from a stroke if administered within the rst three hours. But we needed permission, either from Linda, which was not possible because of her unconscious state, or her closest relative to proceed.” at’s when a registered nurse, Tina Spotts, who is a hospital administrative liaison said, “I recognize this woman!”

Last December, when vaccines were just becoming available to medical and convalescent care professionals only, Linda contracted COVID-19. She was referred to Sharp Coronado’s ED to receive an infusion of monoclonal antibodies as COVID-19 treatment. As Tina chatted with Linda and held her hand while she received the infusion, Linda shared that she was a Sharp Coronado Hospital volunteer, one of our “cookie bakers.” at memory stuck with Tina as she saw Linda in the emergency department two months later. A er Tina’s revelation, the emergency team consulted with the hospital’s pharmacy records to review the names of patients who had been prescribed the monoclonal antibody medication the second week of December. From that prescription list, they learned Linda’s name and were able to contact her doctor and con rm that Linda was not on blood-thinner medication. And through Sharp Coronado’s volunteer liaison o ce, they obtained the name and phone number of Linda’s daughter. Within minutes, they had secured the necessary permission to proceed with a tPA.

“What really impressed me was how quickly they were able to identify me — I felt very lucky,” said Linda.

A er administering the tPA, the Sharp Coronado care team transferred Linda to Sharp Grossmont Hospital, which is designated as a Comprehensive Stroke Center — the highest designation given by e Joint Commission in association with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. ere, Linda was monitored roundthe-clock by Sharp’s highly trained sta in this specialized eld.

“Each day I got stronger and better because everyone was so nice and helpful,” said Linda.

Now fully recovered, Linda is once again enjoying bike riding, swimming and working out at Sharp Coronado’s Sewall Healthy Living Center. She continues to volunteer at Sharp Coronado, where she serves as a Patient Companion.

Second only to the blessing of Linda’s full recovery, here is the sweetest part of this story: last December, through the Coronado Hospital Foundation, Linda honored Tina with a Guardian Angel award, never guessing that this kind woman she had met months earlier would indeed turn out to be her true guardian angel.

“ e compassion and kindness Tina and Dr. Apel showed me is something I will never forget,” said Linda.

Coronado Hospital Foundation is now very close — just $1 million away — from its fundraising goal of $12 million to expand the Emergency Department from eight to 15 beds. Funds will also allow the ICU to move to the fourth oor, featuring seven state-of-the-art private rooms, 10 acute-care patient rooms and a lounge for patients' loved ones. If you would like to learn more about the Coronado Hospital Foundation or the Campaign for Emergency & Intensive care, you can visit: https:// give.sharp.com/coronado-foundation.

• Kris Grant is a local freelance writer and publicist who wrote this article for the Coronado Hospital Foundation.

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