Patient I shared a room with at Villa Medica rehab hospital in 2023

 I spent two months at Villa Medica readaptation  hospital following an ischemic stroke due to a ruptured carotid artery in the neck ,at 225 rue Sherbrooke East between October 5,2023 and December 3,2023 .I had a room on the 10th floor,specifically room number 1007.

           It was a big room.The room had two beds.The patient in the other bed near the window was 83 year-old Denis Menard who had survived a stroke.Denis Menard was a peculiar case;though he had survived a couple of strokes,he could move both of his arms freely,and he was also able to walk on his own;he did not need a wheelchair.Nonetheless,he used a walker sometimes to go out of the room .Denis Menard strangely had big holes in his memory.When the doctor would ask him to announce his home address he would draw a blank.He apparently did not remember his home address.When the doctor asked him on several occasions on different days what hospital he was in,he was unable to recall the name of Villa Medica hospital.He apparently could not remember names or addresses.He also had holes in his vision apparently as a result of the stroke.

          However he was very articulate in describing the food the hospital would serve for breakfast,lunch and dinner.He would immediately let the staff know that the food was undercooked,overcooked,underspiced or not salted enough.He would also notice if the food served  was too hot or too cold.He had lost none of his vocabulary in French,but his memory about his past life had big holes in it.

          It just goes to show a stroke affects different people in different ways,very unexpectedly.