Having a stroke was not on my bingo card - ever.
On January 31, 2024, an ordinary workday became the most critical day of my life. Two days later, I walked out of the ICU on my own - no speech therapy, no occupational therapy, no physical therapy - and went straight home. That outcome is extraordinary, and it didn't happen by chance.
What stood between me and a tragic outcome came down to three things - all connected to the American Heart Association.
#1 - The right call, at the right moment. While I was actively stroking, paramedics and 9-1-1 dispatch assessed me in real time and routed me to the hospital best equipped to treat me. That coordinated response is part of the AHA's Get With the Guidelines program - and it's why calling 9-1-1 immediately is non-negotiable.
#2 - Eight minutes that changed everything. A clot-busting drug unfroze my drooping face and restored movement to my left side - a side I couldn't move at all - in under eight minutes.
#3 - Surgery that saved my brain. Wide awake, I underwent a thrombectomy as a neurosurgeon traveled through my carotid artery into my brain to remove a massive clot blocking oxygen to three-quarters of my right lobe.
The protocols, medications, and surgical breakthroughs that saved me were all funded by the American Heart Association.
Without blood flow, 1.9 million brain cells die every minute. Know the signs. Act immediately.
BE-FAST:
- Balance | Eyes | Face drooping | Arm weakness | Speech difficulty | Time - call 9-1-1 NOW
One in five women will have a stroke.
I was that one...
Let's change this, now! Please join me and give today.
Need more inspiration? https://youtu.be/17nuJXi_oHg