My husband & I left Mass. Sunday to attend an Army reunion in Myrtle Beach. He has diabetes and associated problems but has been fairly healthy. I drove on Sunday. Monday (Sept 30) he drove all morning; after having lunch he had trouble standing up & his speech was slurred. Another patron helped me get him into the car. It was clear that something was happening; I called 911 and an ambulance met us near Rt. 95 S at Ashland, VA and took him to Mem. Regional Med Ctr in Mechanicsville, near Richmond. He underwent many, many tests, including MRI. The diagnosis was probable TIA, accompanied by diabetes & hypertension. All tests were normal for a 79 yr old man. We asked for him to be discharged as he seemed back to normal, and we left hosp. Tuesday evening at 5 pm, arriving in Myrtle Beach about 11 pm. On Wed (yesterday) there was another incident, with trouble walking and slurred speech, yet he was able to carry on a normal conversation. After sleeping 2-3 hours, he was doing well--we went out with our group for the evening. He slept well all night. This morning, 2 hours after awakening, he again couldn't stand up and couldn't sit in his chair without slumping off. For about 1/2 hour he could not smile on the left side; he could touch his nose with rt hand but couldn't move his left hand. When we tried to get him into a wheelchair, he slumped down to the floor; 3 men helped him into the chair and back to our room, where he has slept for the rest of the day (about 1 pm until 7 pm; I woke him at 5:15 and he was able to sit up and walk to the bathroom with my help, then back to bed, again with my help. I had thought that after resting, he would bounce back enough to get up and join the group, like last night. That is not happening. Now my concern is, should I take him to a hospital here in Myrtle Beach (I would probably need to get an ambulance to do that), have his friends help me get him into our car and drive 5-6 hours back to the hospital where they saw him Mon-Tues, try to drive him all the way home to Mass., etc. I really don't know what is in his best interest right now.
Thank you.
Jeanne Johnson