Nurse spots signs of stroke and helps save colleague’s life
Nurse Sharon Woods acted swiftly when her stroke ward colleague Caroline Swan experienced a stroke herself: ‘Sharon saved my life – simple as that,’ she said
A nurse has been hailed as a hero after her quick thinking helped to save the life of an NHS worker who was experiencing a stroke.
Healthcare support worker Caroline Swan was working on a stroke rehabilitation ward at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in January when she started showing signs of stroke.
Sharon Woods, a charge nurse at the hospital, realised something was wrong and contacted the emergency stroke team before placing Ms Swan on a trolley and taking her swiftly to the emergency department.
‘You don’t expect something like this to happen to a colleague’
Ms Woods said: ‘Caroline was sitting in a chair and just staring. When I asked her if she was okay she couldn’t speak. There and then I knew.
‘You don’t expect something like this to happen to a colleague, so to begin with I was shocked. But we take care of people – we’re nurses after all, so that’s what we all did.’
Her swift action meant Ms Swan received treatment within 45 minutes and started to get her speech back within two hours.
Ms Swan was feeling better within days and is now back home with her husband. She has lost her sense of taste, but said she is focused on getting back to work so she can help others on their rehabilitation journey following a stroke.
‘I’ll never be able to thank Sharon and the team enough’
Ms Swan said: ‘Sharon saved my life – it’s as simple as that. I was coming out of a room and couldn’t get my glove off. I just kept staring at it and thinking that something’s wrong.
‘I can vaguely remember being put on to a trolley, going through corridors, and then going for a scan. I remember then thinking something was really wrong. But it honestly feels like my stars were aligned that day.
‘Sharon found me quickly and got me the help I needed. Because of her, and the rest of the team who took care of me, I recovered well. I’ll never be able to thank them enough for what they did for me.’
Know the signs of stroke
Ms Swan urged people to learn the signs of stroke so they can act quickly if needed.
Early warning signs include facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems. If a person is unable to smile properly, cannot raise both arms or are slurring their words, emergency services should be contacted.
Rebecca Fulton, lead nurse for stroke services at the hospital, said: ‘I’m so proud of the team. Despite the fact the patient in this case was one of our staff, everything just kicked in and people knew exactly what to do.
‘In fact, being a close-knit team was probably the critical factor here, and why Caroline has made such a positive recovery.’
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