As told to Rob by Vicki.
We didn’t know we’d get behind with the Blog; you never what’s going to happen. After we relate the details of the next few days, we’ll write brief posts until we get home..
BYE NEWFOUNDLAND. HELLO NOVA SCOTIA.
TRAVEL DAY
From: Grand Codroy RV/Tent Camping, Doyles, NL.
To: North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA Campground, New Harris, NS.
Day 162 – It was 50 degrees out this morning. We got up early to make it to the ferry terminal on time. The girls are not happy. They don’t like ferries! They prefer the road to the ocean!
We left at 9:10 a.m. from Grand Codroy RV park and drove to the Channel-Port aux Basques ferry terminal. We got in line at 9:50 a.m. and boarded the ferry at 11:45 a.m. It was hard to say goodbye to Newfoundland. We hope to come back again.
The girls have to stay in the RV and we aren’t allowed to check on them during the trip. We made them nice and comfortable and went to our small cabin. Getting a cabin is so much better than sitting in the lounge for 6 hours! Once we were underway, we had a nice lunch of Fish n’ Chips in the onboard restaurant. We took naps and read. Before we knew it, we were off the coast of Nova Scotia getting ready to dock. We arrived at the ferry terminal in North Sydney, NS at 5:25 p.m., Atlantic time (½ hr earlier than Newfoundland time). It was sunny and 62 degrees.
We got to the North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA Campground at 6:00 p.m. We were very happy to see the girls when we opened the bedroom door! This KOA is in a very scenic location on the shore of Great Bras d’ Or Lake and overlooks the Seal Island Bridge.
We started setting up camp for our one week stay and then…
UH OH, I was in the kitchen at the sink and I didn’t feel right. I began to feel weak and my right side was numb. Up until that moment I felt just fine. Rob just happened to be inside at that moment and he helped me to a chair. I was having trouble answering Rob’s questions and couldn’t drink out of my water bottle without help. Rob checked for stroke symptoms by asking me to smile. That worked just fine and I had no pain, but clearly something was very wrong.
Rob called 911 and they sent the paramedics. He also tried to call the campground office to ask them to look for the paramedics and guide them to our site. Unfortunately, the phone system at the campground was out! Rob didn’t want to leave my side, so he stayed with me to wait for the paramedics. We waited 20 minutes and no paramedics. Rob called 911 again and they said they were on the way. Eventually they showed up, but couldn’t figure out how to get into the campground. Finally they got in, being led by the campground owners to our site. Before the paramedics arrived at the RV, Rob locked the girls in their bedroom with a kitty box, bowl of dry food and a bowl of water, to keep them safe because the paramedics were going to be coming in and out.
The paramedics also checked Vicki for stroke and heart attack symptoms but were unsure what was wrong. Rob thought it might be a severe case of hypoglycemia, so they gave me some glucose by mouth. That didn’t seem to do anything. Rob told them we wanted to go to the hospital. The main regional hospital is a little over ½ hour away in Sydney. The owners offered to look after the cats if necessary and Rob gave them the RV keys. They also said we could stay as long as we need. Canadians!
Rob was stressed out and the campground owner offered to lead Rob to the hospital in his car since Rob didn’t know where it was and they were worried that he might get lost. The ambulance and Rob arrived at the ER at 8:30 p.m. The ER was a madhouse and they wouldn’t let Rob back with Vicki in the ER hallway until she got a room. So, Rob sat in the ER waiting area along with many, many people that had been there for longer than 12 hours waiting to be seen. Rob was texting back and forth with the paramedic about Vicki to check on her progress. At 10 p.m. they did a CT scan to see if Vicki had a stroke. At midnight, the paramedic came out and got Rob and he was led back to my room. I immediately recognized Rob, though I couldn’t say his name.
They had just diagnosed a stroke from the CT scan and things starting moving very fast. A clot-buster (thrombolytic) drug should be administered as soon as possible after a stroke to stop the damage done by the clot. There were multiple nurses and doctors waiting in the room for Rob to make a decision on whether or not to OK the thrombolytic. There are risks as well as benefits and they needed an OK. I was also at the end of the time period where the thrombolytic was recommended, so there was quite a bit of tension in the room. Rob thought about the risks for a minute and said to do it.
(I’m writing this on Tuesday Oct. 9 and it all worked out)
To be continued in Friday September 29, 2023 post.
I’m so glad the campground owners were so kind and helpful!