Woman saved by pharmacist who saw serious injuries from rollercoaster

A woman who thought she had a “bruised” neck from a Disney rollercoaster discovered she had ruptured an artery during the ride. Loraine Hoar, 54, had a headache after going to the attraction on vacation in Walt Disney World, Florida.

On the plane home Loraine had severe headaches which continued when she arrived back in the UK. Loraine went to her local Asda pharmacy and told staff member Kelly Dennis about her headaches.

Chief pharmacist Luliana Sfarnoiu heard the symptoms and told Loraine to go straight to A&E at Treliske in Truro. Doctors told him the pain was from a torn artery in his head, which they believed was caused when he flipped it on a rollercoaster.

Loraine, from St Austell, Cornwall, said: “Doctors discovered I had ruptured an artery and I could have had a stroke. I was put on medication and now I feel much better. The neurologist called me the luckiest person in the hospital.

“I can’t thank Kelly and Luliana enough for their advice. I was shocked and I met my husband Nige in line and I said, “You’re going to have to take me to the hospital because they told me to go.”

Loraine had been vacationing in Walt Disney World, Florida to celebrate her grandson’s 10th birthday. On the plane back, Loraine was suffering from extreme headaches and went to the local pharmacy for some painkillers.

Loraine said: “At first I thought I had just sprained my neck on the rollercoaster, but the pain just kept getting worse and worse and continued when we got back to England. In Asda I thought I’d get some strong painkillers like co-codamol from the pharmacy while my husband Nige did the shopping.”

Loraine was explaining the headache symptoms to Kelly Dennis. After hearing the symptoms, chief pharmacist Iuliana Sfarnoiu told Loraine to go straight to A&E at Treliske in Truro.

“I asked Kelly at the pharmacy and she asked a few questions and dug deeper into why I wanted them and then said ‘can you wait a minute’. I was thinking “just give me the tablets please” because the headache was bad and I wanted to go for a run while working out.

“He went and spoke to the pharmacist but he came back and said ‘unfortunately we’re not selling these to you because we think you should go to A&E now’. I was shocked and met my husband in line and said “you’re going to have to take me to the hospital because they told me to go”.

Once at A&E, doctors told Loraine the pain was coming from a ruptured artery in her head, which they believed was caused when she flipped on a rollercoaster. Luliana said: “Loraine came in and asked Kelly for co-codamol for a bad headache and she described the pain going down the back of her head and said she felt dizzy. She explained that she did it on a rollercoaster.

“As co-codamol can cause drowsiness, Kelly came to me for advice and told me what had happened. I was very concerned that he was feeling dizzy and I was concerned that he might have had a concussion and felt that he should go to A&E and have it checked out.

“I’m proud of Kelly for getting all the information so we could make the decision we did. Something just didn’t feel right. I’m so glad she took our advice and trusted us. She come to us at the right time. It is so important that colleagues are trained to ask the right questions.”