Joe Kelly: Here’s Why I Ended Up in the Hospital Last Week

Up until the other day, I had never spend a night in the hospital (other than when I was born.)

Up until the other day.

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Why I Was Rushed Into the Emergency Room and Spent the Night in the Hospital

Wednesday night, I drove from my house to a local restaurant to pick up dinner for my wife and I. It was cold out, we were tired, and neither of us felt like cooking. (Shocker - Yes, I can cook!)

On the drive there, I felt some tingling in my right hand - which, honestly wasn't that odd. I feel like I may have some arthritis here and there. Within a couple minutes, though, that tingling turned to numbness - that was weird.

Just a couple minutes later, I then also felt a numbness in my right foot. (My thought, well, left side of your body is a sign of heat attack, so this can't be that.)

By this time, I had arrived at the restaurant and parked my car. Since it's 2026, I quickly Googled my symptoms, but didn't see, "YOU"RE DYING", so I got out of the car and walked in to grab our food. By this time the numbness had gone away.

When I got back int he car, I quickly took a couple bites of food, as I remembered I hadn't eaten much that day.

I then drove home, thinking whatever it was had passed.

When I walked into the house, I went to speak with my wife, and the words just wouldn't come out. What I was thinking I was saying, was not the sound that was coming out. My speech was garbled, slurred, and it felt like my voice was coming out of a different part of my head - a very weird feeling.

Immediately, my wife - the smart one - said, "We're going to the ER. Do you want me to drive or call an ambulance?"

She drove me to AtlantiCare Hospital in Pomona, and since I had symptoms of a stroke, the AtlantiCare ER folks looked at me right away.

I should mention here that I had a bout of Bells Palsy a few years ago. I immediately knew this wasn't that. It was different this time.

What Happened at the Emergency Room

Before I go any farther, let me say the staff at AtlantiCare was tremendous. I was showing the signs of a stroke and they knew what to do - and what to do quickly.

They determined what had happened was probably not a full-fledged stoke, but something called a TIA or mini stroke.

At this point, it was about an hour since I first felt numbness, and my speech had returned to normal. So, pretty much, I was back to feeling normal.

The staff quickly determined that I needed to stay overnight for observations and tests.

There were a lot of tests, CT scans, an MRI, an echo cardiogram, and more.

Everything came back unremarkable and negative, and the final diagnosis was that I had had a TIA.

Less that 24 hours after I walked into the hospital, I walked out.

Some medication and follow-up appointments, otherwise my doctor told me I could go back to doing what I do. I even played pickleball a couple times this past weekend.

What is TIA?

I had never heard of TIA or a mini stroke before. In a TIA, oxygen is temporarily cutoff from the brain. In a stroke that blockage is much longer, even permanent.  So, I was very lucky.

What causes it? Usually a bit of plaque in an artery. (I swear I brush my arteries every day!)

What causes all of this?  Factors can include diet, lack of exercise and more. Ironically, I'm really in the best shape I've been in in twenty years: I've lost a lot of weight, eat healthy, and exercise frequently.

There are other factors, but I'm not an expert, so I'm not going to try to explain it all.

Bottom line, if something's wrong, get help immediately, don't wait.

Finally a big shout out to the doctors, nurses, and the whole team at AtlantiCare in Pomona. They were caring and professional. When you're facing a health crisis, it's what you want.

Happy to be here!