A south suburban woman is back home after being stranded in Jamaica without her medication for her new kidney.
She spoke about the trip, being in the midst of Hurricane Melissa, and how she has new medical scares after being stuck on the island.
“Fearful for life and fearful for getting help,” said Trinette Britt-Johnson.
Britt-Johnson, 58, was beyond scared last Tuesday because she was stranded in Jamaica and her life-saving medication was low.
“I knew I was running out. I knew I didn’t have anything else. There was nothing I could do,” she said.
Britt-Johnson was in Montego Bay, Jamaica, last week. She tried to leave the previous Saturday, but could not because the airports were closed.
Eventually, she ran out of that critical prescription and had to stay in an ambulance overnight just so she could be stabilized when her blood pressure spiked.
“At one point it was 217 over I think maybe 106,” she said.
Britt-Johnson said she’s beyond grateful to be back home, but she’s still dealing with medical scares from her trip.
“Early Monday morning, I drove to Northwestern emergency room just to get an overall check, and they kept me overnight. So I got home last night [Tuesday],” she said.
She said her blood pressure was still high, and that’s one of the main reasons she stayed in the hospital.
“There was something that indicated there was not enough blood going to my heart, or there was some kind of disruption. They were fearful I had a mini heart attack, being overly stressed,” Britt-Johnson said.
She didn’t have a mini heart attack, but she’ll have to return to Northwestern to keep an eye on her kidney and heart.
“I have to get tested again tomorrow [Thursday] and weekly. I have follow-up appointments just to keep monitoring even though they have determined my kidney function is stabilized,” she said.
For now, she said her main focus is to increase awareness about how to prevent kidney failure.
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