Just in time

Dizziness. Slurred speech. Tingling in her left arm. After weeks of strange symptoms following a spinal surgery, Sarah Rubin knew there was no more time to waste. "I thought I was having a stroke," she recounts. "My husband took me straight to the ER at Poinciana Hospital."

As soon as she arrived, staff took her vitals. "My blood pressure was dangerously high. They immediately gave me an X-ray, EKG, and medication to lower my blood pressure." Moving quickly, the hospital transferred her to the inpatient floor where she could be examined by a neurological specialist. What they found in Sarah's scans was alarming.

"I had blood clots stopping circulation to my brain in two places, and my left carotid artery was almost completely blocked. With the slightest delay I would have suffered a massive stroke," says Sarah.

Thanks to the swift intervention at Poinciana Hospital, Sarah has fully recovered and is back to enjoying an active lifestyle with her family, including her passions for gardening and photography. "I'm forever grateful to the staff and physicians who saved me."