From vertigo to the Villagia: my long journey home 

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at Villagia, waiting for physio   PHOTO: LUCILLE PAKALNIS 

From vertigo to the Villagia: my long journey home 

By Rochelle Handelman 

More than six million Canadians experience vestibular problems, and I became one of them. 

The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, is responsible for balance, spatial orientation and coordinating head and eye movements. When it is disrupted, symptoms can include vertigo (a spinning sensation), dizziness, imbalance and nausea. 

I suffered all those symptoms and spent nearly three weeks in the Civic Hospital while doctors tried to diagnose and treat my condition. After being discharged, I spent almost three more months in a retirement home because I was unable to walk without a walker due to persistent dizziness and severe imbalance. 

Here is my story. 

Sudden Onset – My symptoms began last November 18, immediately after emergency gallbladder surgery. When I woke from general anesthesia, I was extremely dizzy. 

A Constant Shuffle – My time at the Civic Hospital felt like a game of musical chairs. After being admitted, I waited 16.5 hours for a bed and then was placed on an orthopedic floor – without a room. After surgery, my dizziness prompted a move to another orthopedic floor, this time with a room. Soon after, I was moved to the Family Medicine Unit. 

Searching for a Diagnosis – In Family Medicine, a doctor diagnosed me with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). This condition occurs when tiny calcium crystals (“ear rocks”) become dislodged and interfere with the inner ear’s balance system. 

I was instructed to perform the Epley maneuver, a series of head movements designed to reposition these crystals. Typically, symptoms improve after a few attempts. In my case, they didn’t. After performing the maneuver 25 times with no improvement, BPPV was ruled out. 

Doctors then considered Ménière’s disease, prescribing SERC (betahistine), a medication used to treat it. When that had no effect, this diagnosis was also dismissed. 

To rule out other causes, I underwent ECGs, an MRI and a CT scan.  

A New Direction – I was transferred to the Geriatric Unit where I was diagnosed with uncompensated vestibular neuritis, an inner ear disorder affecting balance. Unlike the earlier assumption of a problem in both ears, it was determined that only my right inner ear was affected. 

The Missing Treatment – The primary treatment for this condition is vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) —a specialized form of physiotherapy that retrains the brain to better process signals from the inner ear, eyes and body. Unfortunately, this therapy was not available to hospital inpatients. I also did not qualify for rehabilitation services at Bruyère Health. 

Despite still being unable to walk independently, I had reached the limit of what the hospital could offer me as an inpatient. They said that they would refer me as an outpatient to the Civic Hospital dizziness clinic. 

A Difficult Transition – Before discharge, I met with the hospital social worker who helped me secure a recuperation stay at a local retirement residence, Villagia in The Glebe. I live in a three-storey home in the Glebe and could not manage stairs. 

A hospital occupational therapist helped arrange the rental of a walker. On December 5, I was transported to the Villagia by the Carefor Going Home Program, a free service for seniors leaving hospital. 

I contacted the dizziness clinic – only to be told no referral had been received. Fortunately, the clinic located the lost paperwork and scheduled me for a consult in January. 

Rehabilitation, But Not the Right Kind – I started in-home physiotherapy paid by Ontario Health at Home. The therapist was excellent, but the exercises did not meaningfully improve my condition. 

At my January appointment, I learned why: the therapy I had been receiving was not the specialized vestibular rehabilitation I needed. 

I was then given a list of qualified therapists, one of whom was my former physiotherapist from Glebe Physiotherapy. Although she was not accepting new patients, she agreed to see former ones – including me. With the right therapy, I finally began to improve.  

A Second Diagnosis – In February, I was diagnosed with yet another condition: cervicogenic dizziness, possibly caused by delayed whiplash. This condition creates a mismatch between signals from the neck, eyes and inner ear, leading to dizziness and unsteadiness. It may have originated from a fall I had last October, when my head hit the floor during exercise class. 

Continuing Effects – Although I have made significant progress, I still experience episodes of tinnitus. I am now seeking treatment for this as well. 

This article is dedicated to the health care providers at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus and the people at Villagia. 

Rochelle Handelman is a Glebe resident and a retired population analyst from Statistics Canada. She holds an Honours B.A. in Human Geography. 

The author in the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus  PHOTO: PAUL BECKWITH