A researcher stationed in the South Pole was evacuated to New Zealand Monday after being stranded for weeks.

Renee Nicole Douceur, an engineer from New Hampshire, was a contractor for the Raytheon Polar Services Co. She previously asked to be evacuated after possibly having a stroke in August but was denied because of bad weather. Officials said sending a rescue plane would be too dangerous and her condition was not life threatening.

“While I was devastated that I had a stroke, it was like, oh, my God, it just stymied me… and I cried,” Douceur said in an interview with CBS. “I just didn’t know what to do and the doctors basically told me, just go back to my room.”

Raytheon said their station is staffed with well-trained medical personnel that can provide all levels of medical care.

Doucuer told the Associated Press she was awaiting test results from an MRI and echocardiogram exam. While at the South Pole station, Douceur began to lose her field of vision and sometimes jumbled words. She also had trouble remembering simple lists of words during medical evaluations.