Miss-Delectable
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Police Officer Disobeys Supervisor and Saves Her Life - BV Black Spin
Sometimes you have to follow your gut.
That's what veteran New York City police officer James Atkins did when he disobeyed his supervisor, Sgt. Grevirlene Kersellius, and took her to the emergency room for a splitting headache despite her protests.
It turned out that Atkins was right. Instead of just a regular old headache, Kersellius was suffering from a potentially fatal brain aneurysm. If Atkins hadn't taken her to the hospital, she could have died or been left severely disabled.
"Thank you for not listening to me," the New York Daily News reported Kersellius as telling Atkins.
Atkins told the paper that his partner looked very ill.
"She looked bad, and I made the decision to take her straight to the hospital," said Atkins, 41. "When I found out what it was, I was like, 'Wow!'"
The pair, who patrol a district in Harlem, were responding to a report of a man with a gun in a train station when Kersellius, a mother of three boys, began feeling excruciating pain in the front of her head and neck.
"It was like I had a ton on my head and I couldn't hold it up," said the 19-year veteran.
At the hospital, a CAT scan showed bleeding at the base of her brain. Kersellius was rushed to another hospital, where neuroendovascular surgeon Dr. Rafael Ortiz inserted platinum coils to prevent bleeding in a five-hour surgery.
"One-third of people with this die, and one-third have a bad neurological outcome," Ortiz told the Daily News. "The chance of a good outcome is better if the patient comes in right away."
Today, Kersellius is alive because her partner ignored her orders. I hear too many stories about African Americans who ignore their body's warning signs of imminent danger. We think it'll just pass with a nap, don't feel like being bothered with the emergency room or are more concerned with some silly work matter or the kids. Next thing you know, a life that could have been saved with medical intervention is finished. All of those things can wait. Your life and health should come first.
It happened to my wife's grandfather, who ignored the shooting pain in his arm for days before dropping dead of a heart attack despite the best efforts of his family to get him to go to the hospital.
Know the warning signs of serious illnesses, such as a shooting pain in your left arm, pain in your chest, numbness on one side of the body and severe head pain. More importantly, listen to your body and listen to those who care about you.
As for Kersellius, she is now a convert and warns everyone not to take sudden severe headaches lightly. Atkins is more than her angel.
"I call him my savior," she said.
Sometimes you have to follow your gut.
That's what veteran New York City police officer James Atkins did when he disobeyed his supervisor, Sgt. Grevirlene Kersellius, and took her to the emergency room for a splitting headache despite her protests.
It turned out that Atkins was right. Instead of just a regular old headache, Kersellius was suffering from a potentially fatal brain aneurysm. If Atkins hadn't taken her to the hospital, she could have died or been left severely disabled.
"Thank you for not listening to me," the New York Daily News reported Kersellius as telling Atkins.
Atkins told the paper that his partner looked very ill.
"She looked bad, and I made the decision to take her straight to the hospital," said Atkins, 41. "When I found out what it was, I was like, 'Wow!'"
The pair, who patrol a district in Harlem, were responding to a report of a man with a gun in a train station when Kersellius, a mother of three boys, began feeling excruciating pain in the front of her head and neck.
"It was like I had a ton on my head and I couldn't hold it up," said the 19-year veteran.
At the hospital, a CAT scan showed bleeding at the base of her brain. Kersellius was rushed to another hospital, where neuroendovascular surgeon Dr. Rafael Ortiz inserted platinum coils to prevent bleeding in a five-hour surgery.
"One-third of people with this die, and one-third have a bad neurological outcome," Ortiz told the Daily News. "The chance of a good outcome is better if the patient comes in right away."
Today, Kersellius is alive because her partner ignored her orders. I hear too many stories about African Americans who ignore their body's warning signs of imminent danger. We think it'll just pass with a nap, don't feel like being bothered with the emergency room or are more concerned with some silly work matter or the kids. Next thing you know, a life that could have been saved with medical intervention is finished. All of those things can wait. Your life and health should come first.
It happened to my wife's grandfather, who ignored the shooting pain in his arm for days before dropping dead of a heart attack despite the best efforts of his family to get him to go to the hospital.
Know the warning signs of serious illnesses, such as a shooting pain in your left arm, pain in your chest, numbness on one side of the body and severe head pain. More importantly, listen to your body and listen to those who care about you.
As for Kersellius, she is now a convert and warns everyone not to take sudden severe headaches lightly. Atkins is more than her angel.
"I call him my savior," she said.