Jeni Limb
Learn more about Jeni Limb's road to recovery from acute stroke at St. Mark's Hospital.
Take me to St. Mark’s Hospital – I trust them. They saved my life.
The day after Thanksgiving, Jenifer Limb experienced the worst coughing attack of her life. She coughed so hard that something popped in the back of her neck, and then a hot pain traveled from the pop to her forehead’s temple. For the next nine days she lay in bed with a horrific headache.
“On the ninth morning, my husband brought me a protein shake and when I turned to look at it, the world started spinning. I couldn’t tell which way my feet pointed. The floor felt eye-level, and I was being pulled to different sides. As I crawled to the bathroom, I began vomiting uncontrollably and I became drenched in a cold sweat. I’ve had vertigo before with migraines but never to this extend,” Jenifer said.
St. Mark’s Hospital provides advanced stroke care
Jenifer’s husband smartly took her to Lone Peak Hospital’s Emergency Room, where doctors ordered an immediate MRI and CT scan. The images revealed a tear in Jenifer’s vertebral artery — for the past nine days, Jenifer had been suffering a stroke.
Strokes occur when broken or blocked blood vessels interrupt blood flow to the brain. Jenifer had experienced a vertebral artery dissection; meaning the vertebral artery in her neck that supplies blood to the brain had torn. For nine days the bottom of her brain, called the cerebellum, hadn’t received adequate blood supply.
“When the doctor told us, I just didn’t believe it,” Jenifer said. “But it was definitely a stroke, and the doctor told me I needed to get to St. Mark’s Hospital because of their incredible stroke team.”
The stroke center at St. Mark’s Hospital is state-certified and has received a Stroke Gold Plus Award from the American Heart Association based on their experienced staff and advanced stroke care.
When a stroke strikes, St. Mark’s team acts quickly
Once admitted to St. Mark’s Hospital, Jenifer learned that her cerebellum was permanently damaged from the lack of blood supply. Her dizziness would continue, and she would need rehabilitation. Then, just two days later, while still in a hospital bed at St. Mark’s, Jenifer suffered a second — and different kind of — stroke.
“I remember it started with an overwhelming smell of cigarette smoke. I thought someone was in my bathroom smoking, so I hit the nurse’s call button,” Jenifer said. “Next thing I knew, I couldn’t hear in my left ear. Then my vision started to go out. I screamed for help. Nurses rushed in and asked me to raise my arms, but suddenly I couldn’t move. I was frozen in my body. It felt like a magnet was at the back of my head, pulling me into my bed and sucking me down. It was the worst feeling I’ve ever had.”
Jenifer’s acute stroke had caused locked-in syndrome, a condition where patients are aware but cannot communicate or move due to sudden paralysis.
Thankfully, St. Mark’s stroke team was prepared, ready and quickly activated to save Jenifer’s life. Using imaging technology, the team guided a long, thin tube through an artery in Jenifer’s leg all the way to her brain. From there, the experts carefully removed two blood clots that had blocked blood flow to Jenifer’s brain.
“They had me in a CT scan, intubated and the clots out within one hour. If I hadn’t received care fast, I had a 10 percent chance of surviving,” Jenifer said.
Acute rehabilitation at St. Mark’s leads to a fuller recovery
Jenifer has three sons, one of whom has cerebral palsy and developmental delays. Her greatest concern is caring for her family. Upon waking up from her second stroke, Jenifer could see, move her arms and hear again, but she wasn’t capable of full mom duties yet.
To regain everyday strength and living skills, Jenifer underwent intense rehab within St. Mark’s Hospital’s Acute Rehabilitation Center (ARC). At the ARC, rehabilitation specialists taught Jenifer how to shower, walk and complete other activities of daily living.
“They made me do it even when I didn’t feel like it, and it’s a good thing they did,” Jenifer said. “At the beginning I couldn’t move my hands to get my fork to my mouth, and now I can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my kids.”
A second chance at life
Today, Jenifer feels grateful to be home and caring for her family. While she continues struggling with dizziness, she also continues receiving rehabilitation, making tremendous progress and finding the good in her situation.
“I’m so happy to be here. I’m talking. I can see and hear my children. I can walk. I have a long road ahead of me, but I’m here. It’s amazing,” Jenifer said.
As for St. Mark’s Hospital, Jenifer will never forget the care she received. In fact, she says there is no other hospital she wants to receive care at.
“I say, ‘Take me to St. Mark’s Hospital,’ because they brought me back to my family. They saved my life and I trust them 100 percent,” Jenifer said.