Hello Mike,
I am so sorry to hear of what happened to your wife, I am so very sorry for your loss. This is still so recent. I hope you are ok and have the support you need. This must be such a difficult time for you. I am pleased you have reached out on EnableMe. Please do reach out for more support if we can be of any help to you. You can seek support through your GP and a Mental Health Care plan for a psychology referral, or through a grief counsellor. Griefline might also be a helpful resource for you. You can find their details here or give them a call on 1300 845 745. They are open 8am to 8pm: 7 days (AEST).
We are not medical here at StrokeLine, but there are certain criteria for administering the clot busting drug.
The Stroke Foundation Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management state:
“Strong recommendation
For patients with potentially disabling ischaemic stroke within 4.5 hours of onset who meet specific eligibility criteria, intravenous thrombolysis should be administered as early as possible after stroke onset (Wardlaw et al. 2014 [39]; Emberson et al. 2014 [40])”
And:
“Strong recommendation
For patients with potentially disabling ischaemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion who meet specific eligibility criteria, intravenous tenecteplase (0.25mg/kg, maximum of 25mg) or alteplase (0.9mg/kg, maximum of 90mg) should be administered up to 4.5 hours after the time the patient was last known to be well. (Parsons et al 2012 [57], Campbell et al 2018 [55])”
You can look at the Living Guidelines for Stroke Management here and have a look at the section on Reperfusion therapies for more information on thrombolysis. This can be found under chapter three and under reperfusion therapies.
It is important to discuss your concerns with the hospital if you haven’t already, and if you are not satisfied with the response, you can also reach out to the Health Care Complaints Commission of NSW. You can find out more from their website here, or give them a call on Ph. 1800 043 159.
Again, this is a really tough situation for you, and we are certainly here if you would like to talk. You can give us a call on Ph 1800 787 653 or email us at strokeline@strokefoundation.org.au. We are available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm AEST.
I am very sorry for your loss Mike, do take care of yourself and reach out if we can be of any help.
Kind regards
Siobhan (StrokeLine)
