Ok everyone - here's the deal - sorry for the late post - had to stop to see my daughter at Rutgers, drive home, talk to my mom, put the birds away, catch up on all the messages. Gretchen was airlifted to Morristown (Memorial?) Hospital around 1pm from the Sussex Fairgrounds. Maria (Crunchie) was with her in the show barn when she started to feel dizzy and had trouble seeing, around 12:15. I met them coming out and she couldn't make it to her camper 50 feet away. Had her sit on a bench for a couple of minutes, in case it was lack of sleep or stress from driving 8 hours the night before - through NEWARK with that giant trailer! Soon realized this was not normal. She was slurring her words, disoriented, her right hand was numb, and the left side of her face had started to droop. Called 911, got her into the ambulance about five minutes after they got there - which was really fast - realizing it was serious. While Maria and I exchanged numbers, another EMT came to ask questions about when it started, etc. Just like that, they told Maria to get out of the ambulance, as they were going to airlift her to Morristown, because they felt she was having a stroke RIGHT THEN! Maria called Marty and told him what was happening. He got in the car with Sean, Maria's husband, and the two flew (in a car) up here to the hospital. Our club secretary drove Maria to the hospital to pick up Sean, and then drove them back to the fairgrounds to get Gretchen's trailer, which they are driving home right now. I'm waiting to hear a message from them that they got home all right. Don't know how Gretchen's birds did, Maria ended up on Champion Row with a WC Black Polish. Spoke to Gretchen around 8:30 for about 30 seconds but her doctor walked in and she had to hang up. Her speech was SO much better, but she sounded exhausted. She said she had definitely had a stroke but that they didn't know why. I guess she didn't know then that she would have to stay for several days. I'm just glad we called 911 when we did. It was amazing how much info we didn't know, like her actual address and stuff. I'm glad she had mentioned her age at dinner the night before. It's just so ironic that she had a stroke AFTER she'd lost 100 lbs. So, that's pretty much it. It was pretty chilling to watch that helicopter come over the fairgrounds knowing it was going to pick Gretchen up. Maria had to stay because they couldn't take anyone in the copter, and besides, she wasn't family, so she would have had to wait outside for everything anyway. She made sure all of Gretchen's birds were packed up and everything. What scared me most was how she wasn't even alarmed when they were getting her on the stretcher - most people would be really upset - but she was not really processing stuff, I think. She was just responding to instructions. When the first guy got there, he told her to take his hands and squeeze them, and she had to look at her hands as if willing them to move before she could do it. Scary.
So, that's it. I'm hoping to get up there this week, if she's staying. Please, if anyone is traveling with someone else you don't know intimately, have an index card either on you or in your purse listing all your info - name, age, phone, address, emergency numbers, medications, any recent medical events, etc. Show the person your traveling with where it is so just in case... I'm going to make one up for my friend about myself for when we go to Ohio next month, and have her do the same. I know her address and phone, but not emergency numbers or meds, etc. You may never have to use it, but I wish we had had something like that today.
If I hear anything more, I'll post it here.
