Stroke in the brain

Posted by geminitwin28 @geminitwin28, Oct 11, 2021

I have a friend who was recently hospitalized for an unknown illness. While in the care of the hospital they nicked his lung putting in a central line and he had a stroke, they say, in the part of the brain that controls the eyes. The backstory is that he was dizzy with a severe headache and a fever of 103.9 also confusion. He had a covid vaccine but they say it's not covid or anything. They are saying it's staph and he is septic but they are not sure. How do we know he is getting the best treatment?

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Oct 11, 2021

@geminitwin28 Hello and welcome to Connect. I do understand your concerns for your friend and I can sympathize. It can be difficult to understand the situation if you are not in the loop. In order to be able to discuss anything with your friend's doctors, you would need to be granted permission to do so by your friend because of HIPPA requirements about privacy in medical care. If you do not have that permission, you won't be able to act on their behalf. If you do have permission, you would be able to be present at medical appointments and ask questions about treatment. Sometimes things are unknown, and they may be treating an infection and not be entirely sure what it is, but what is important is improvement. I had a situation with my mom where she had been overdosed on pain medication during a hospital stay and I had to call in a supervisor to ask why my mom's breathing was start and stop, essentially so repressed that there were long pauses between breaths and she could not stay awake. Involving the supervisor helped get attention to her case, so they were more careful, but I have also avoided taking her to that hospital because of the incident. You might speak to the family member who is in charge if your friend does not have the presence of mind to understand the situation because of the stroke. If he is unable to make decisions for himself, he wouldn't have the ability to give you permission for HIPPA. I hope that helps in some way, and I hope his family is receptive to your concerns.

Zuzu | @eczarniecki | May 8, 2022

I’m not sure I know how to use this site. I do understand the HIPAA thing though. It is a good thing and sometimes it is a good thing and sometimes it is a very bad thing.
My difficulty is having had a Lacunar Stroke. I really want to talk about. I guess even talking about a stroke in general is OK. Can anybody comment on that for me?