Role Reversal

Chief Nursing Officer knew she was in good hands with her team when she suffered a stroke.

At 44 years old, Amber Reed wasn’t particularly concerned about her health, and certainly never expected to have a stroke. Then one morning, she found herself needing life-saving treatment from the team she normally leads as chief nursing officer for Baylor Scott & White in the College Station region.

Though she’d had a pounding headache the day before, Amber was beginning to feel better when she set out on the highway from Brenham to College Station. As she drove, she began experiencing slight vision issues, which she attributed to her headache. Then, she began to have trouble speaking on a conference call and her left arm started to go numb. She pulled over and called her husband and 911. Within the hour, she was being wheeled in to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station.

“I am confident that my team of nurses are among the best and brightest in their field,” Amber says. “That’s why when the roles were reversed and my health was on the line, I knew it would be okay.”

Physicians administered TPA, a clot-busting medicine that is the gold standard in stroke treatment. Within an hour, Amber felt herself getting better as the numbness in her left side slowly disappeared and she was able to verbalize answers to simple questions.

“I’m grateful I listened to my body, knew what warning signs to watch for, and had a great team around me to step in when I was unable to provide my own care,” Amber says.

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