★★★★★
I had a tooth extraction done under general anesthesia. While preparing to leave recovery I had a stroke. I WAS ALERT AND COGNITIVE BUT HAD LOST MY ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH. I knew they had 3 to 4 hours to administer a TPA (clot buster) to stop the stroke. I didn't know how long I had been in recovery but I knew the golden hour known to reverse stroke damage was ending. A nurse walked by and recognized what was happening. She set in motion a stroke alert called her team and a neurologist. The team RAN to the building, the doctor came by video and after a CT scan, administered a clot buster. I regained speech and the use of my arm and leg within 40 minutes. When I could not communicate I prayed for an angel to help me and God sent this woman, a nurse who worked in the neuro ICU in another building. I lost my list of the names of the wonderful staff. I think her name was Delia. May God bless you all.
★
My Bad Experience at HCA Florida Largo Hospital - November 2025
I was admitted through the ER around 11:00 p.m. on Saturday night with numbness on the left side of my face and extremely high blood pressure reaching 234/117, which continued to fluctuate. I remained in the emergency room for nearly five hours and was never given any medication to lower or stabilize my blood pressure -- even though those numbers are dangerously high.
Blood work was drawn to check for diabetes, which I understood. A doctor finally came to evaluate me and ordered a CT scan of my brain as a precaution.
However, my main concern -- which I repeated several times -- was sharp pain under my left rib cage radiating to my back. I clearly requested an MRI of my upper abdominal area to find out what was causing that pain.
Despite explaining this to two different doctors, they ignored my request and ordered an MRI of my spine instead, assuming that because I'm almost 60 years old, my pain must be spine-related. That assumption was completely wrong, and I was never informed or asked to approve the change.
I was admitted overnight for "observation," which only made me more anxious because I still hadn't been treated for my blood pressure. I couldn't sleep, and nothing was done to stabilize my condition.
The head night and day nurse Mrs Patty, and Mrs Sherry were kind, attentive, and professional. She listened carefully and tried to help.
But the other nurse, Jennifer (third floor, 11/03/2025), was the opposite. She seemed unhappy, rolled her eyes constantly, and had an unprofessional attitude. At one point she brought me medication that she could not identify when I asked her what it was for. When I declined to take it, she became visibly upset and stormed out of the room, throwing the medication away. From that moment, I completely lost trust in her.
Later, when the doctor said I was being discharged, Jennifer returned to take my blood pressure. The monitor already displayed 125/80 before she even scanned my name or started the machine. She placed the cuff on my arm, but the numbers never changed, which immediately made me suspicious. I asked her to retake it, and she refused.
I then asked another nurse to recheck it, and that reading came back 179/97, confirming that Jennifer's result was false.
I was finally discharged while my blood pressure was still dangerously high.
This entire experience left me deeply disappointed and distrustful. My request for the correct test was ignored, my blood pressure was never treated, and one nurse's attitude and carelessness made the situation worse.
I sincerely hope the hospital administration reviews this incident, retrains staff on listening to patients and following proper procedures, and ensures that no other patient goes through the same experience.
-- R Earnest
★★★★
Procedure was fine, everyone was super.
My only concern was that they did not have access to my gall bladder surgery that I had at LMC and Pancreatitis that followed. They ask me a question about an anesthetic that was listed and I could not explain why it said I had an adverse reaction to it. A little scary but I did feel I was in good hand with the alternative anesthetic. I have requested the records from my gall bladder surgery and following Hospital say and am waiting for it to arrive. This is very important for me to have access to this medical history.