The hospital donors built — and a life it saved

Marva was planning a home renovation when her world changed in an instant. One moment, she was showing a potential contractor around her house — and then, nothing.

Marva had experienced a subarachnoid hemorrhage, also known as a hemorrhagic stroke. The bleeding near the brain was sudden and severe. It was a medical emergency that demanded immediate, specialized care. She arrived at Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Neuroscience less than six weeks after it opened.

A hospital — and a team — built for moments like this

For months, Marva’s daughter practically lived inside the hospital walls. Crystal sat by her mom’s side in the David Anthony Salo Neuroscience ICU with breathing tubes, monitor beeps and uncertainty filling the room. Looking back on those days, Crystal remembers how the care team became family to her.

“When my mom wasn't able to communicate, they were there for me,” Crystal recalls. “They reminded me to eat, go home, rest, shower and come back. They were my support system.”

As Marva began to recover from the stroke, she was moved to the Norma Walter Neuroscience Progressive Care Unit and eventually graduated to outpatient rehabilitation. Her journey has taken her through every department of the new hospital, making her the first patient to experience every level of care the hospital offers.

An unanticipated reunion

Not too long ago, Crystal was helping Marva out of the car for a rehab appointment in the Ron and Mary Alice Brady Neuroscience Clinic, when a nurse held the door open for Marva. He then looked up to see Crystal — and stopped.

The nurse recognized her from those long, hard nights in the ICU. Because many ICU nurses don’t often see their patients after they leave the unit, it was with disbelieving shock that he realized who was standing beside her.

"I had tears of joy in my eyes when I realized who it was," says Javier Rivera, RN. "I'll never forget that moment."

Moving forward, with gratitude

Today, Marva is continuing her journey back to health. She’s at the Linda and Frank Riolo Rehabilitation Gym twice a week for her physical therapy and is greeted by familiar faces at each appointment — something that gives her strength to persevere.

Crystal often thinks about what made her mother’s recovery possible. It was the skill of the doctors and the compassion of the nurses. It was the specialized care, equipment and convenience found within the walls of the new Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Neuroscience.

Both Marva and Crystal recognize that this hospital was there for them in their hour of need because thousands of people — grateful patients, neighbors, local businesses — chose to invest in its creation. Philanthropic gifts funded the ICU, the progressive care unit, the outpatient clinic and the rehabilitation gym.

“If the donors didn’t help to build this hospital, my mom would not be here today,” Crystal puts it simply. “To all those who donated – thank you. You created a family for families to feel supported. You built a community with all these different facilities in one place. It’s magical. My mom is alive. I can’t thank you enough.”

When Marva returns to the now-familiar halls, she sees those familiar faces, as well as a wall featuring the names of the people who built the hospital that saved her life. And while she’ll never meet many of them, their generosity ensures that they are forever a part of her story.

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