Glad to be in Red Deer
A Penhold woman with heart problems praised Red Deer Regional Hospital staff for her quick treatment after leaving Calgary’s Foothills Hospital where she said they ignored her symptoms.
On March 4, Reayanne Kendall said she was taken by a friend to the Calgary hospital after she had a seizure at work in Calgary. By the time she arrived in the emergency department she had two more seizures.
Despite having another seizure in the waiting room, her right side going numb, and trouble speaking, staff called it anxiety. Kendall said. She was given medication to calm down.
Kendall, 23, said she knew something was seriously wrong but her symptoms and the concerns of family and friends were disregarded.
“I was so scared,” said Kendall on Wednesday at the Red Deer hospital where she is still undergoing tests. “I wasn’t getting the treatment I needed and I was told more or less that I was faking it and to stop acting the way I was and to have a time out.”
After waiting for two hours for help at the Calgary hospital, her father Cyril Davies, of Innisfail, drove her to Red Deer.
She was immediately admitted to the Red Deer hospital and was put on a heart monitor and received intravenous therapy and oxygen.
Tests showed she suffered from heart arrhythmia and she still requires 24-hour supervision.
“I got up to wash my face the other day and I was sent back to my bed because of the rapid heart rate.”
Kendall, who has two young children, can’t say enough about Red Deer hospital staff.
“The nurses are great. The doctors are very thorough and are doing everything they can.”
Her family has filed a complaint with Foothills Hospital and is seeking legal advice.
Shelley Rattray, Alberta Health Services spokesperson, said the provincial health authority is looking into the matter.
“As we do with all cases, we’ll be following through promptly.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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