Penny Blue was walking up the stairs of her Union Hall, Va. home in 2013 when a blood vessel burst in her brain.
"I actually felt the pop in my head when it happened," she told USA TODAY. After sitting down and calling an ambulance she was quickly on her way to the closest hospital 15 minutes away, where she was stabilized. She was flown by helicopter to Roanoke Memorial hospital and remained in intensive care there for 13 days.
If the same thing happened again, Blue might not be so lucky.
If the rural hospital down the road were to close, the closest hospital would be at least an hour away in Roanoke. The 65-year-old said she has looked at the statistics of what her chances of survival and quality of life would be if she had to go that far. They aren't good.
"Time, minutes and seconds, make a difference whether you live or die and your recovery, if you live, the quality of your life," Blue said.
