~Angie Schuler
At their home outside of Lebanon, Angie Schuler leafed through a journal documenting the days her husband, Scott Schuler was in the hospital in late 2021. After several handwritten pages days turned into weeks and the entries gave way to cards sent from well-wishers.
“And there’s more that I haven’t put in here yet,” said Angie. “One lady sent a card every day.”
Angie and Scott, both local radio personalities, were overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers while Scott recovered from the effects of blood clots that caused him to stay 28 days at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.
This journey began at home one evening after working his job at popular country music station KRKT, when Scott felt his heart beating very fast. Concerned, Scott drove himself to the hospital to get the irregular heartbeat checked out.
Scott texted his wife from Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital that the doctor said his heart was in Afib, also known atrial fibrillation. Afib is a type of arrhythmia, or fast and irregular beats from the upper chambers of the heart.
“I had never heard of that,” said Angie. “He said, ‘yeah, they’re going to shock my heart back into rhythm.’”
“It kind of worked for a few days and then the issue came back,” Scott said.
This prompted Scott to do his own research, leading him to suspect he had a blood clot.
After conferring with his doctor, Scott returned to the hospital for diagnostic imaging. The results confirmed his suspicion. He had a blood clot in his leg. Returning home was not an option as his care team was concerned about the blood clot moving.
~Scott Schuler
Angie stopped by the hospital to see Scott before he was transported to Corvallis.
“I could tell he was scared,” said Angie. “He obviously had more information than I did, and I think he was not giving me all the information because he didn’t want me to be scared.”
Several days later, Angie and their five children were preparing for Scott’s homecoming and birthday celebration. Those plans came to a halt when she got a call that Scott was in the ICU.
“Thirty minutes after the first call, I got the second call, which was … he coded, and they’re doing CPR,” said Angie. “I think I kind of went into shock.”
“It was the best place to be coding,” said Scott. “They performed CPR and got me back.”
“He got off life support on his birthday,” said Angie. “He was in the hospital through Christmas, which we kind of suspected he would be.”
Snow fell late Christmas evening. By morning valley areas were covered with several inches of snow, which prompted Angie to call Scott instead of visit. Angie’s calls to Scott’s cell phone went unanswered so she called the nurses station and learned that he had just been moved back to ICU.
Concerned about driving in the snow, Angie asked her sister-in-law who lived closer to check on Scott.
“That night at about 11, she called and said that he was having a stroke,” said Angie. “She noticed he started acting funny, she got the attention of the nurses. They treated him really fast.”
Throughout Scott’s stay Angie was by his side. For rest periods she would walk down the hill to an RV on the grounds of the Mario Pastega House. The hospitality house provides, at a nominal fee, RV hookups often for patients and families who live outside the Corvallis area.
“I did sleep in the RV the first night,” said Angie. “After that, it was a command center for family and friends who wanted to come but weren’t allowed to go to visit him due to COVID-19 restrictions.”
Eighth months after coming home, Scott and Angie were out on the links golfing with friends during the annual KRKT golf tournament.
“I don’t have a limp. I don’t have a cane. I don’t have anything like that,” Scott said. “But there’s little things with my speech. I used to be able to just wing it, now I have to stop and figure out exactly what I’m going to say.”
Scott is walking daily with a goal of 8,000 to 9,000 steps. He has lost 70 pounds off his 6-foot 6-inch frame. He eats healthier and has eliminated alcohol and most caffeine from his diet.
Now on anticoagulants, which help prevent blood clots and strokes, Scott adds frequent blood checks to his routine.
Scott is grateful for the care he received. “I remember the faces and the people, and I got to know them pretty well, the nurses and staff were all awesome.”
Like Scott, many people who’ve had a stroke rely on anticoagulants, which help prevent blood clots and strokes. Samaritan’s anticoagulation services are available for patients who are on the blood thinner medications in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties.
Learn about stroke and the importance of seeking emergency care immediately with Samaritan stroke care coordinators, Sarah Vincent and Carrie Manley.
