Ted Squires

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Steve Basill, Ted’s project employer called me around 10:00 am on Wednesday June 29, 2016. My heart began to pound. I knew something was wrong. He told me that Ted was taken to the ER in Miami / Ft. Lauderdale and was at Broward Medical Center.  I was quickly able to locate Ted in the ER at Broward, and thanks to a competent and compassionate ER nurse, Jack, I was able to speak with Ted.  There was strength in his voice and his mood was good, yet he was clearly confused and incoherent. I was told that he had a stroke(ischemic) and had expressive aphasia.

I flew into action, hijacked his computer to pilfer for all the necessary medical and related information, and booked a ticket to Florida the next day.  When I got to his room he was in testing. He had been in the ER for nearly an entire day, before he was admitted and given a room. When I saw him, I was relieved to see him look well.

From what I was able to piece together, his client, Jay Davies, truly saved his life. Ted was in a hotel room, alone, on business.  He began to feel strange on Tuesday evening.He probably began to stroke then. He went to bed hoping it would go away.Wednesday he woke up disoriented and confused. Jay called him on Wednesday to arrange a potential interview for work. Ted was incoherent and Jay asked him directly, “Are you intoxicated or are you having a medical emergency?” Jay had the presence of mind, the relatedness to Ted, and the gumption to take decisive action. He called 911.

Back in the hospital, it took two days to get all the requisite tests to ensure he was stable. They found out that he had arterial fibrillation or A-Fib, a heart condition where the upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers(the ventricles) of the heart and it can lead to blood pooling and a clot. We had no idea that he had this. Many people do not know. In some ways, it’s a random condition.

His vitals were good, yet there was an open question— should he or should he not get on anti-coagulants right away. Hospital communication is complex, and there was not a straight forward consensus between the neuro doc and cardio doc. There are two major risks that need to be ascertained: the risk of having another stroke due to an unseen additional clot and the risk of the blood thinning too much and affecting the damaged brain region and causing a hemorrhagic stroke. So, after Ted ripped off his intravenous tube and all his heart monitoring equipment, they finally let us go.

Through much ado, (it was about 72 hours of constant phone calls to navigate medical and travel details), we arrived home on Saturday,with deep gratitude in our hearts for making it home safely.

Now it’s a process of navigating the incredibly broken health care system and getting Ted fully recovered. The A-Fib workup seems to be pretty standard. The unknown part is the neurological work up and recovering his speech and cognitive function. I hold deep in my heart a full recovery. I imagine this with all my power. I see Ted getting back to work, 100% healthy and vital and us with renewed love in our relationship. As my grandma used to say, “From your lips, to G-ds ears.”