"Unfortunate misdiagnosis of my spouse's recent stroke"

I would like to first and foremost make absolutely clear that I do not wish to criticise nor demean in any shape, way or form, the important health service and care that I believe our local doctors, nurses and associated stakeholders consistently provide to our community. I merely want to raise the awareness of the relevant parties involved in the following recent situation so that a future repetition of such an unfortunate event can possibly be prevented from occurring again:

One morning, I was woken up by my spouse's weak cries for help which promptly jolted me out of bed to come to their assistance. My spouse lay horizontally on our lounge room couch, barely conscious, drenched in sweat and clutching their head with both hands, managing to softly verbalise that they were extremely dizzy and feeling like being sick. I felt there were absolutely no signs nor symptoms of any sort leading up to this.

My spouse is a qualified first aid instructor, very healthy and fit physically; someone who prides themselves in treating their body like a temple. Needless to say, the sight of their sweat-bathed body was distressing and the fact that they hardly responded to my first aid attempts ‘can you hear me?’, 'have you got pain anywhere', 'can you tell me what you are feeling etc?', raised alarm bells immediately. I instinctively checked their breathing and was relieved to find it regular. Only then did I attempt to sit them upright and my efforts were wasted as their entire body slumped over to the other side beyond my spouse's control. This, combined with the onset of intense vomiting, prompted me to call 000 for an ambulance.

I placed my spouse's limp body into the recovery position, provided them with a bucket, and was thankful for the reassuring voice of the medical professional at the other end of the phone who remained with me for time it took for an ambulance to arrive.

When the two paramedics arrived, I believe their swift action could not be faulted and soon my spouse was on their way to Margaret River Hospital.

My child and I soon followed in our own cars to find my spouse in a triage hospital bed being monitored and attached to a drip. My child and I were satisfied that my spouse was in good hands and although my spouse was still very weak and unable to talk much, I recall the clinician assured us that all vitals are normal and that they are likely to be suffering from a bad case of gastro which was causing his ongoing vertigo. I recall we were told that there was no point in hanging around and that we should likely pick them up in a few hours when notified.

We were notified to pick them up. My spouse was unable to walk and required a wheelchair to be able to transport him to the car. As I understand it, we were told that my spouse had gastro, that they should rehydrate including electrolytes and rest up for a couple of days with associated medical certificate for 3 days.

A couple days later, my spouse was still very unsteady on their feet although all other symptoms of ‘gastro’ had passed on the day of their initial hospital admission. Realising that further clearance from work was required, an appointment was made with our local GP who organised a CT scan elsewhere as part of possible stroke protocol.

I drove my spouse to a medical centre where the CT scan was promptly carried out and we were informed that my spouse had had a significant blockage impacting their cerebellum and hence their balance. My spouse was kept there overnight for observation as an MRI scan in another hospital was not possible until the following day.

I drove my spouse to the other hospital where I recall the MRI confirmed the findings of the CT scan - a significant stroke to the cerebellum. My spouse was then admitted to as an impatient where they were subjected to further tests and ongoing observations.

My spouse was released to come home and since then has undertaken physiotherapy and are performing their daily rehabilitation routine at the local recreation centre.

In closing, I feel the clinician on the day of my spouse's admission to Margaret River Hospital needs to be made aware of this misdiagnosis. We do understand that mistakes can be made, but we believe that there was enough evidence to prompt stroke protocol to be pursued.

Kind Regards,

capellafx35

(Spouse of Patient)