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Red Deer man praises Red Deer hospital staff

A Red Deer man says he wouldn’t be home today without the workers at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
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Ron Adam, of Red Deer, is praising Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre staff after a recent stay following two transient ischemic attacks. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff)

A Red Deer man says he wouldn’t be home today without the workers at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

Ron Adam, 81, had two transient ischemic attacks – which he describes as a ministroke – on the morning of Friday, Feb. 25.

“I didn’t think too much of it because it didn’t last too long. In 10 or 15 minutes, it was gone and I was feeling OK,” he said.

“I went to the gym and worked out … then took my wife out for coffee and a bagel. I reached down to get the bagel and my hand wouldn’t work.”

Adam went to see his doctor, who checked him and then called for an ambulance.

“They rushed me into emergency. I spent quite a few hours there because the place was packed, but the nurses were just absolutely phenomenal. I don’t know how they do it. It’s beyond anything I could imagine,” he said.

“A week ago I was dying,” Adam continued, “And I’m still here today. That’s all thanks to them.”

People in the health care industry “work themselves to the bone,” Adam said, adding some are working 12-hour shifts regularly.

“One nurse came in to give me meds at 7:30 in the evening in emergency. She told me she was going to be off for the night. Guess who was taking my blood pressure at 3:30 in the morning the following day: the same nurse. I said, ‘I thought you were off tonight.’ She said, ‘I was. For eight hours.’ How they do this is beyond me,” he said.

Adam spent the night in the emergency department, before getting a bed in another unit. He received a CT scan, where doctors identified a blood clot in his head. Normally this would require neurosurgery, but because Adam gets plenty of exercise, his body is healthy enough to just be on medication instead, he said.

Adam said he could go “on and on about the fabulous care” he received at the hospital.

“I know that most people are aware of these things. I just wish we could all stop complaining about masks and the vaccines, and be more aware of the stress we’re putting on all of those poor health care workers,” he said.

“I just want to say thank you for everything they did for me. Instead of having brain surgery, I’m back home today.”

It isn’t just the nurses who deserve praise, Adam added.

“On Sunday morning I was able to get up and walk around. These workers were cleaning up and they had piles six feet high of clothes and garbage they had to remove. Then there were all of those people running around delivering meals for the patients – and the wards were packed.”

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Ron Adam, of Red Deer, is praising Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre staff after a recent stay following two transient ischemic attacks. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff)


Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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