Elleigh Lee

They Say I've Had a Stroke Elleigh Lee

While on a business trip 2,500 miles from home, former business executive Edward Lee woke up in his hotel room dizzy and with blurred vision. As the day progressed so did the effects of the stroke that would render him with numerous deficits and totally paralyzed on his right side. Embracing their situation, Elleigh Lee tells her husband's stroke survival and rehabilitation story. Although the hospital incorrectly labeled the Lees as indigent and initially denied their admission to the rehabilitation unit; the author describes their life in the ER, ICU, IMCU, and the hospital's stroke rehabilitation unit. With a diminished mind and body, they celebrated Edward's accomplishments as he re-learned how to roll over, sit, stand, bathe, dress, and eventually walk with a cane. Returning home after a lengthy rehabilitation, they faced a new world that excluded many of the things that they formerly took for granted. The author discusses the realities of obtaining quality care in today's litigious and money sensitive healthcare environment. They met many amazing healthcare professionals during Edward's hospitalization and rehabilitation. They also met a couple of hospital employees who disregarded their patient's health and dignity and in turn put the patient and hospital at risk. Now years later and standing side by side, their story is one of a stubborn caregiver and a stroke survivor who both refuse to give up.