Full Body Paralysis

by Tammy | May 4, 2015 | 2 - Hospital

Monday morning started off uneventful.  I had an excellent sleep but I didn’t want to get out of bed. I showered, got kids ready for school, and started laundry.  I cleaned up the living room and helped my son put together his Lego train set. My husband was working from home so I let my son stay home with Dad while I went to Costco to get groceries.

While I was shopping I noticed that I was still a bit tired which is a somewhat unusual for me at 10am but I didn’t think much of it.

By the time I finished shopping and got in line I noticed I was quite a bit tired so I texted my husband and told him I was going to bed when I got home. I thought maybe I was coming down with something.

When I reached the cashier I barely had enough energy to lift the groceries out of the cart  so I left all the item items in the buggy which I felt was being lazy but I didn’t care. I realized at that point that I was extremely tired and it probably wasn’t a good idea to drive home so I called home. 

My husband’s business partner was already at the house working so I gave her the message to come get me.  I was a bit scared and I could tell that she sensed it.  She said they would come get me. The cashier asked me if I was ok and I told him I was fine and that my husband was on his way but I had tears in my eyes. I slowly walked the cart to the car, struggled to get the groceries in, climbed into the passenger seat, and closed my eyes. I had no energy at that point and was too tired to do anything else so I tried to sleep while waiting for my ride.

A few minutes later I heard my husband’s car. He came to the window, saw me slumped in the seat, and told his business partner he would drive me home. I told him I just couldn’t keep my eyes open so he said to rest and he would take me home to sleep. Just before we got home I realized that I couldn’t move my arms, legs, or head and I struggled to say “Maybe you should take me to Emerg”. He responded by saying “No, I think you just need to sleep so I will take you home”.   At this point I realized I couldn’t talk or move or open my eyes. But my husband  didn’t realize this yet.

I was trying everything I could to tell my husband that something was terribly wrong. I felt wide awake and alert inside but no matter how hard I tried I could not open my eyes.  When I tried to speak all I heard was a faint noise. I couldn’t get his attention and I started to panic. It was only a few moments until we got home but all I could think about was what if this is it? What if I stop breathing? Am I dying? Will I ever see the kids again? What is wrong with me? I could feel tears coming out of my eyes but I couldn’t do anything about it.

When we got home my husband tried to wake me up. He told me we were home which I already knew because I could hear the garage door open and the car had stopped.  He tapped my shoulder. He lifted my hand.  He tried to wake me but I couldn’t acknowledge him. His business partner pulled into the garage, took one look at me and announced that she was  going to call an ambulance. 

At that point I remember feeling a bit relieved that someone was on their way to help.  I tried opening my eyes but it took all of the energy I had just to open them a tiny but. I could hear my husband and his business partner on the phone with someone asking questions: “Is she responsive? Is she breathing? Does she have a pulse?”

They were trying to figure out if I was breathing ok so I focused hard on taking deep breaths to make it easier for them to count each time I breathed in and out.

Soon a fire truck came and the fire fighters took over. They were speaking to me and I was trying to answer but no one could hear. “Yes I am wide awake. Yes I know exactly where I am. Yes I know the date. Yes, I can breathe but I can’t move.”

I could feel them take my pulse and open my eyes.  At this point I was slowly able to open my eyes a bit more.  I could speak very faintly but just in a whisper.  The fire fighters asked much of the same questions as the person on the phone.  They determined that I was responsive and my vitals were fine. This was a relief.

Shortly after, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over. They checked vitals again. I could also hear a big vehicle drive by and a few moments later I heard a friend come over to offer help. I knew she was on the school field trip.  At that moment I realized the school bus just drove by and my oldest son, along with several students and teachers, saw the fire truck and ambulance in our driveway.  I felt so bad because I knew everyone would be worried, especially my son. 

Then I heard my 5 year old come close. He was so excited because he had just been in the firetruck.   It made me smile inside.  Everything was under control so the parent left to tend to the kids on the field trip.  The paramedics asked my husband to move the car out of the garage so they could get me onto the stretcher.

By this time I was a bit responsive.  The paramedics  asked if I could move onto the stretcher.  I thought I could but I just couldn’t hold my own weight and collapsed immediately when I tried to push myself out of the car.  Both paramedics helped lift me onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. My husband was going to follow but they told him he could come with us so he jumped in the back with me. That made me feel so much better because I didn’t want him to have to pay for parking.

Once we were in the ambulance they put a tube into my nose and hooked me up to oxygen.  The paramedic also pricked my finger to test my blood sugar. It was 3.9 which is low, but 4.0 is considered normal. All that I had eaten today was a few grapes a couple of hours earlier so this condition was not caused by my blood sugar levels.

Naturally, as the ambulance pulled out of the driveway, the MRI department called the house to set up my appointment. My husband’s business partner, who was home with my son, told them I was on my way to the hospital in an ambulance which really complicated everything.  I learned that you have to be an in-patient or an out-patient to schedule your MRI.  At this point I was neither and couldn’t schedule anything until a doctor admitted me or sent me home.

We arrived a the hospital around 11:30am. The paramedics brought me in on a stretcher.  I was still too weak to really move.  I was gaining mobility in my arms and I could wiggle my toes.  I stayed in the entrance as the paramedics “checked me in”.  Then after what seemed like an hour I was moved to a hallway in the back where there were two other stretchers. 

The two paramedics who came in with me stayed for a while before they got called out again. Another paramedic was assigned to watch over all of us.  I stayed in the hallway for most of the day. Around 5:00PM someone came and took 3 viles of blood. I also got an ECG done.

Around 6:30PM, when the paramedic was going off duty, I was moved into an area in Emergency and my care was then transferred to a nurse. About 5 minutes before they moved me I went into another episode that lasted about 15-20 minutes.  Everyone thought I was sleeping but I was fully aware of what was going on. I knew I was moving but didn’t know where to.  My bed was placed directly across from triage so we had a good view of everyone getting admitted.

I was still really tired at 7:00pm. I told Tavis “I’m really tired, I just don’t want to wake up”. The nurses took my vitals and everything was normal.  Even my blood sugar levels were at 4.4 which is normal.  At this point I still hadn’t eaten anything since my snack at 8:00am. At 7:30 my brother came and brought pizza for me and a sandwich for my husband.

At 9:00pm we finally saw a doctor. He ordered a CT of my brain. About 20 minutes later I went down for the test and I was back in 10 minutes! My brother stayed until about 11pm when my parents finally arrived (after a 3 hour commute). They left a car for my husband and my brother drove them to my house to watch our kids and relieve my husband’s business partner. 

My husband stayed until just after midnight then went home to try and get some rest.

I didn’t get much rest. As soon as I fell asleep a nurse came to take my vitals or check in on me.  There was also a naked man who kept wandering into the hospital, touching himself and peeing in public.  Security removed him a few times and Triage kept bringing everyone in to the back where they were away from the disturbances.

I am not sure when I finally fell asleep but I was quickly awakened around 4:00am.  A porter came to move me to my room but the nurse was on a break.  It didn’t take long for me to realize I was having another episode. 

The porter tried to wake me but couldn’t.  I felt her pinching me. She asked for help waking me and I heard at least three other people come. They were poking and pinching me and talking quite loudly to me.  One person rolled a pencil on the back of my left hand and bent my fingers back.  I finally gained enough strength to whisper “Ouch” which got their attention.  Someone asked if I was in pain and I whispered only “my hand”.

The porter then decided just to move my bed with me in it.  About half way to the room I was coming out of the episode and the porter asked me if I normally sleep that deep. I told her “No” and explained the situation.  It was not her fault, it was just bad timing. I should have never been left alone without a nurse who knew my condition.  If someone would have read my chart or the nurse would have properly explained why I was there to the nurse who was covering they would have known what was going on.

I realized then that I need to have someone with me at all times who can speak for me when I can’t.

When we got to room 327 on the 3rd floor of the North tower I had enough energy to flop myself onto my bed from the stretcher that I was brought into the hospital on. Thus began an 11 day stay at Royal Columbian Hospital. I was officially admitted as an in-patient.