I’ve been there: Nurse gives hope to her patients

Many nurses will tell you they chose their career because it was a calling, a role that taps into a natural instinct to care for and help others in some of the most vulnerable times in their lives. For Aida Streetman, a 24-year Sharp employee, her own experience as a patient enables her to offer an added level of empathy and compassion to her patients at Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Neuroscience, where she works as a health care partner.

In 2017, then a nursing assistant in the main hospital’s stroke unit, Streetman was walking a patient to the restroom when she realized she needed help immediately.

“She called out to me and said she didn’t feel right, and was holding onto the bathroom door,” recalls nurse colleague Toni Herrera. “Aida was slurring and couldn’t move her leg.”

Recognizing those classic signs, Herrera and another teammate immediately initiated an in-house stroke code, took Streetman’s blood pressure, and had her in a wheelchair on her way to the emergency department.

As is common with ischemic strokes, which are caused by blood clots that block blood flow to the brain, Dr. Dennis Cheng, a neurologist with Sharp Community Medical Group called for a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a medication that helps to break down the clots. In a short amount of time, Streetman’s arms and legs began to improve.

“It was amazing,” says Streetman. “I realized it just wasn’t my time yet, and I believe that everything happens for a reason. I think this happened to me because of the years I’ve spent working with stroke patients.”

Streetman spent 24 hours in the ICU, then another five days cared for by her colleagues on her own stroke unit. This further cemented her experience as a stroke patient and survivor who would continue to pay it forward, eventually landing in the Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Neuroscience as a health care partner.

A special gift

Jamal Armstrong, MSN, RN, is the nurse manager for the hospital’s neuro Progressive Care Unit (PCU) and sees the impact of Streetman’s experience and ability to relate to patients on a daily basis.

“I can tell you firsthand that Aida has a special gift for connecting with her patients and her peers,” says Armstrong. “She understands the challenges and emotions that come with recovering from a stroke and can empathize with them on a deep level.”

Knowing that your nursing assistant has experienced what you, as a stroke patient, are going through is a special, if not rare, thing. Armstrong says the effect is obvious.

“Her connection can significantly enhance their well-being and improve their chances of recovery,” says Armstrong. “As with any obstacle, seeing is believing, and Aida’s story is a testament to the transformative power of stroke recovery.”

Giving thanks, giving back

Streetman still has some weakness on her left side and says she forgets a word here and there. She uses herself as a prime example of why doing arm, leg and brain exercises, even years down the road, is so important.

“It took me several months to recover,” says Streetman. “I tell them don’t lose hope that you will move again, because they have to hold on to that hope to begin to recover.’

Streetman brings her experience to her teammates as well, recounting to them how emotional and scary such an experience can be, particularly with an event that affects brain function. Outside the hospital doors, she attends health fairs, staffs blood pressure screenings, and participates in various community outreach initiatives — all of which she views as opportunities to share her story with others as an educational and preventive tool.

Her penchant for helping others extends even further across borders and oceans. She volunteered for the Homes for Hope program to build homes in Baja California and traveled back to her native Philippines to help build a church. Streetman sees it as simply giving thanks and giving back.

“I was taken care of by a group of angels at Sharp Grossmont when I needed them,” says Streetman. “I want to bring that kind of hope, spirit and compassion to my patients.”

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