It was a snowy February day as Linda Kaye went through her daily routine of making the bed when she fell.\u00a0 At first, she thought that she tripped over a pillow on the floor, as she tried to get up she realized her right leg wouldn\u2019t move. Trying to get her right hand to lift the leg, it too wouldn\u2019t work.\u00a0 She knew she was having a stroke.<\/p>\n
Calling to her husband who was downstairs, her words were garbled, but he understood her to say the word \u201cstroke\u201d and called 911.<\/p>\n
She remembers not feeling pain or nervousness at all and the EMTs told her they would be taking her to the Stroke Center at UConn Health in Farmington, she couldn\u2019t talk but she was aware.<\/p>\n
Upon arriving at the Emergency Department at UConn John Dempsey Hospital, the stroke team was ready and she was taken for a CT Scan. UConn Health has advanced CT perfusion imaging, an advanced imaging, not all other hospitals have, which showed she was having an acute ischemic stroke.<\/p>\n
Acute ischemic stroke is the sudden loss of blood flow to an area of the brain with the resulting loss of neurologic function. It is caused by thrombosis or embolism that blocks a cerebral vessel supplying a specific area of the brain.<\/p>\n
Kaye was given tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA).\u00a0 When administered quickly after stroke onset, tPA helps to restore blood flow to brain regions affected by a stroke, thereby limiting the risk of damage and functional impairment.<\/p>\n
More than 90% of patients at UConn Health will get the clot-reducing medication within 60 minutes or less.<\/p>\n
The neurologists, neuro-interventionalists, anesthesiologists, and neurosurgeons in the hospital\u2019s state-of-the-art hybrid OR room and its OR staff worked quickly to get Kaye an immediate mechanical thrombectomy procedure to remove the stroke from traveling deeper into her brain.<\/p>\n
After her surgery, Kaye was admitted to the ICU and had an almost complete resolution of her stroke symptoms with few deficits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe management of stroke patients is a multidisciplinary team effort.\u00a0 Immediate treatment is essential because, with every second that goes by, there is potentially less brain tissue that can be saved,\u201d says Ketan Bulsara, professor, and chief, Division of Neurosurgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember waking up and saying \u2018thank God I can talk\u2019 to Dr. Bulsara,\u201d says Kaye. \u201cEverything was working.<\/p>\n
The hardest part of being in the hospital at this time was not being able to have visitors due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Both her husband and son are radiologists and she would have liked them by her side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nurses were so great, knowing how hard it was to not have visitors, they came and sat with me and talked to me to keep me company,\u201d says Kaye.<\/p>\n
At UConn Health, the Stroke Center the team is trained in the latest procedures and technology, ensuring patients receive a rapid response and coordinated care for stroke recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came out a whole person and I\u2019m grateful,\u201d says Kaye.<\/p>\n
May is Stroke Awareness Month<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Know the warning signs and symptoms of stroke so that you can act fast if you or someone you know might be having a stroke. The chances of survival are greater when emergency treatment begins quickly.<\/p>\n Time is Brain – BEFAST<\/strong><\/p>\n B \u2013 BALANCE<\/strong> – watch for sudden loss of balance.<\/p>\n E \u2013 EYES<\/strong> – check for vision loss<\/p>\n F \u2013 FACE<\/strong> – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Is the smile uneven?<\/p>\n A-ARM<\/strong> \u2013 is one arm week or numb<\/p>\n S \u2013 SPEECH<\/strong> \u2013 is speech slurred? Unable to speak or hard to understand?<\/p>\n T – TIME<\/strong> \u2013 if someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately.\u00a0 Check the time so you know when symptoms first appeared.<\/p>\n Seek emergency care when you need it. UConn Health\u2019s Emergency Department and its dedicated Stroke Center team are ready 24\/7 to help you safely and promptly.<\/p>\n