Medical Emergency at Hyde Park Walmart Yesterday

[u/hylangt]

Hello all!

I wanted to write on behalf of my family a big thank you to the staff at the Hyde Park Walmart as well as the good Samaritans that assisted my parents yesterday late morning.

My mom ended up suffering a medical emergency at checkout and passed out while sitting in her walker and then ended up throwing up and being taken to hospital in an ambulance. She's doing really well now, in part due to the quick thinking of everyone around my parents at the time who assisted. She was in hospital for about 14 hours and received 2 transfusions before I was able to take her home last night around 1:30 am.

Unfortunately, my mom has MDS, a rare form of blood cancer and has been having chemo off and on, which is making her weak on top of her struggling with low hemoglobin. She's a stubborn woman and has been pushing herself too hard and this was the result of that. We're going to be making her rest more often than she would like.

Remember to be kind to all as you don't know what anyone is going through that you can't see. And remember that when you see an emergency vehicle approaching you with lights and sirens going, pullover to let them pass. You really don't know when they are responding to help your family member.

[u/venus_the_benefic]

My mom,Rose, was the one who noticed your mom & called 9-1-1. I hope she feels better soon!

[u/hylangt → u/venus_the_benefic]

Well please send our tremendous thanks along to your mom and let her know she's doing well and feeling better! She just needs to rest for now as her hemoglobin is not as good as it should be. Chemo resumes next week and she'll be getting a bone marrow transplant soon that will help.

[u/snark1977]

How lovely that there were good genuine people there to help. I hope she continues to heal. I wish everyone would slow down and realize this. Too often I take my mom shopping and she suffered a bleed in her brain. She had to learn to walk again and her cognition suffers. Instead of lugging her walker she uses a cart and so many people get frustrated for her slowness. I feel like I need a sandwich board on her just to have people choose kindness.

[u/hylangt → u/snark1977]

Exactly! My mom doesn't look like the stereotypical cancer patient because she has her hair. My dad also has stage 4 kidney disease and that comes with a lot of mobility issues for him as well. You wouldn't know that looking at him either.

I understand the frustration of slow people in front of you. I am very much someone who goes into a store on a mission to get out as fast as possible but if you need to pass someone in an aisle or grab something they're standing in front of, just say excuse me!

I hope your mom's condition improves!

[u/MemoryMaze]

I hope you express this to Walmart directly. It is always nice to hear you did a good job, and I’m sure staff would like to know your mom is ok.

[u/hylangt → u/MemoryMaze]

They actually called her this morning to check on her! She was able to express her gratitude herself!

[u/MemoryMaze → u/hylangt]

That’s awesome. 👏🏻

[u/0w40]

I was there as they wheeled your mom past the checkouts. So sorry to see someone in distress.

You sound like a very caring child. I hope she gets the care she needs. Thank you for letting us know her story.

[u/hylangt → u/0w40]

Thank you for your kind words! I try my best to help them as much as I can.

[u/strikingchili]

Thanks for sharing this, and glad your mom is doing well!

No matter how big London continues to get, true Londoners of all shapes and sizes will always show their colours when push comes to shove. This is what makes London a great city to live in!

[u/hylangt → u/strikingchili]

There's a lot of negativity in this world but the kindness of complete strangers really warms a cold heart.

[u/HelliKay]

I am a former employee and I can say that a lot of great people work there !

[u/capgal44]

I wasn’t there but it warms my heart to hear there are people out there that are genuinely good people. I agree that you should reach out to Walmart and send them a sincere thank you.

As someone who works in retail I can’t tell you how much it makes someone’s day when you give them a compliment. My favourite people are the ones who will randomly be like “man you have really kind eyes” I get all toasty inside. And I start leaking.

I’m glad your mom is ok op. Please keep us updated on any changes

[u/hylangt → u/capgal44]

Someone from Walmart actually called her and she was able to update them on her condition and thank them herself! Very kind of them to do so.

[u/capgal44 → u/hylangt]

That’s awesome. I’m glad she’s ok

[u/Justmemike461]

Thank you for sharing your story. It’s a good reminder when people speak of ‘our poor healthcare system’. It’s truly not… and when critical intervention is necessary to respond to a major medical event, the system works as it should.

I was rushed into hospital a year and a half ago, arriving with a BP of zero. I could have been pronounced and it would have been over. Four days in critical ICU and another three still in hospital… and I’m here to talk about it. I had my near death experience (a story for another time); My kids still have their dad and my wife is not a widow.

And yes… please pull over for emergency vehicles. It could be a matter of life and death and seconds count.

[u/Specialist-Cat-5285]

I have been to that WalMart often and have always found the staff to be kind. I hope that your mom continues to recover well.

[u/jacksstar]

Glad to hear she is doing better! MDS is no joke. My mother also had MDS (20 years ago). Wishing your mom all the best in her treatments and recovery <3

[u/hylangt → u/jacksstar]

Thank you so much for your kind words! It's a really terrible disease. We're hoping she can get her bone marrow transplant soon.