{"id":9617,"date":"2023-08-14T17:13:28","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=9617"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:38:15","slug":"assurance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/about-samaritan\/together\/assurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Assurance Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Hospital Volunteer Experiences Stroke<\/h1>\n\t\t\t
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\u201cI instantly felt safe, just eye to eye with Rex, and I told her, \u2018I\u2019m going to trust you because I\u2019m scared,\u2019 and she never let go of my hand.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Cyndee Martin<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Hospital Volunteer Experiences Stroke, Finds Comfort in Familiar Faces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Frightened, confused and alone \u2014 even while surrounded by the emergency services team at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital<\/a> \u2014 Cyndee Martin was asked to make a quick decision that could potentially impact her health and even her life. She locked eyes with a nurse she recognized and found the strength and trust to decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Months later, Martin shared her praise for the small-town hospital with access to big-city services, which helped her to survive a stroke and begin a new phase of her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About eight years earlier, after a divorce, Martin relocated to the Central Oregon coast, living first in Lincoln City then moving to Newport. With extended family in the Willamette Valley and beyond, Cyndee began cultivating friendships locally, working a part-time retail job and exploring new activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these activities is volunteering at the Newport hospital.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI had just started making this feel like my home and a lot of it has to do with the people that I\u2019m associated with at the hospital,\u201d Martin said with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to volunteer. The people are so wonderful, and we do a lot of things together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin was trained to work the front desk, assist in the Emergency Department, and to be a comforting presence for patients who have no family or friends with them in the hospital during the last days of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find so much joy in being a volunteer at the hospital. I\u2019m around a great group of people and I go home feeling really fulfilled,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a truly wonderful experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, volunteers were not allowed to serve in the hospital for many months, for their own safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people found themselves a little lost because it\u2019s such a big part of our lives,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Martin unexpectedly found herself back inside the hospital walls, a few months into the pandemic \u2014 this time as an emergency patient herself.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI went to reach for my coffee with my left hand and my hand wouldn\u2019t go to my cup … I felt fine, but my body wasn\u2019t working properly.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Cyndee Martin<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Martin recalled that frightening day:  It was early on a Tuesday morning and she was reading her emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a cup of coffee sitting there and I went to reach for my coffee with my left hand and my hand wouldn\u2019t go to my cup, so I called my mother. She in turn called my roommate and he called the ambulance, and they were there faster than \u2014 I don\u2019t even know \u2014 I just turned around and they were there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving by ambulance to the hospital, Martin said she was very confused and didn\u2019t know what was happening to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought I felt fine, but my body wasn\u2019t working properly. I was surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses and they said that they thought I was having a stroke, so they got a neurologist on a camera (telehealth) and he confirmed what the ER physician had already diagnosed \u2014 that I was having a stroke,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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A stroke happens when a blood clot stops or restricts the blood supply to the brain, causing brain cells to die. Quick medical action can reduce brain damage and other complications. Martin would need to have an injection of tPA, a clot-busting drug that could restore function \u2014 but which also carries the risk of brain bled and even death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the blur of activity, Martin looked around and saw a familiar face, Emergency Department nurse Rexanne Payne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI instantly felt safe, just eye to eye with Rex, and I told her, \u2018I\u2019m going to trust you because I\u2019m scared, I don\u2019t know what to do,\u2019 and she never let go of my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff were able to get Martin\u2019s son on the phone and everyone agreed to give Martin the injection within the \u201cgolden hour\u201d of time, when medical intervention is critical to reducing stroke damage.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI find so much joy in being a volunteer at the hospital. I\u2019m around a great group of people and I go home feeling really fulfilled, it\u2019s a truly wonderful experience for me.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

~Cyndee Martin<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEveryone worked so quickly to do all of this. Within about 30 or 45 minutes, my arm started working. I had control again,\u201d she recalled. \u201cEveryone did every step correctly and saved me from months of physical therapy. They\u2019re wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin is at risk for another stroke, so she continues to receive care from a \u201cgreat team of doctors,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m just doing what they tell me to do and I feel great. I was up and running within a week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In replaying the events in her mind, Martin added: \u201cOur hospital is a small, rural hospital which I think makes some people kind of leery. Well, I\u2019ll tell you something. Through volunteering there and being a patient there, this is a group of extraordinary people who work as a team, who are caring. I feel so safe going there. I just feel really fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Learn More About Stroke Services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning of a patient\u2019s visit to the hospital to the fours phases of recovery<\/a> , the Samaritan Stroke Services team work together to stop and reverse the damaging effects of a stroke. For more information about Samaritan Stroke Services, call 541-768-6737<\/a>, email SHSstrokeservices@samhealth.org or visit samhealth.org\/Stroke<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Recognize a Stroke \u2013 B.E.  F.A.S.T.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stroke Coordinators, Sarah Vincent and Carrie Manley, explain the two types of stroke, the damage they can cause and the importance of seeking emergency care immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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