Surviving Stroke: Patient Stories

TRANSCRIPT Text on screen: Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States experiences a stroke. Christian England-Sullivan: It happened on April 15, 2015. I was going out for a run that morning. It happened instantly. The only movement I had was in my right hand. Corinne Stanton: I was at work. I'm a receptionist at a retirement home. I was talking to a resident and I said, "I don't feel right." And that was the end, I wasn't able to talk. Leroy Jordan: What happened was that my wife came and saw me laying on the floor at the foot of the bed. Hope Mabry: It was a Monday morning. I'd just gotten to work, feeling like I was - like something was going on with me. As I continue to go and get coffee, my legs kind of gave up underneath me. Scott McDaniel: I'm a paramedic. I went to work, my normal day. Went to use the restroom. I suffered it in there. Meghan Robinson: I went to go grab a water bottle off my nightstand and my hand couldn't grab it. The part of my brain that was affected - I had left side neglect so I didn't recognize the entire left side of my body. Text on screen: Getting the right treatment in time can be the difference between life, death and disability. Meghan: While I was in the EMS vehicle they told me that I was having a stroke, and all I kept saying was "Time is brain. Get me to the emergency room. We need to get this taken care of right now." Christian: Since they didn't have the resources there at that hospital, they actually had to wait until I stopped seizing there to actually to air-vac me down to the city. Actually had to go there to remove the clot. They did it in about 20 minutes, and then after that, my parents said that I just looked better. Leroy: The people at St. John's hospital told them to take to me Memorial hospital. And Dr. Elias was there waiting for me to get there. Corinne: They did the procedure and everything, and as soon as I was wheeled into ICU, I was talking and I was moving my arms and I was okay. Everything was okay. It's a total miracle to me. Text on screen: Only 10% of patients who need neuroendovascular surgery are getting it. Scott: We take several stroke patients there to St. Anthony's. I knew they can go in and pull the clots out. But I went in completely paralyzed on my left side and after the procedure, I had that motion back. Meghan: I, by chance, was taken to Novant Health where I worked. But they wanted to take me to another hospital and that hospital wasn't equipped with the same equipment and technology. Corinne: And it was less than an hour, hour and a half to get from Ooltewah, Tennessee to Chattooga, Tennessee - to the right hospital. They knew where to take me. Christian: I probably would not have gotten it. But they brought me to the one hospital that had connections to the one hospital in the cities that was using it. So if they would have taken any of the other hospitals, that's it for you. Text on screen: Patients need protocols that ensure they get to a neuroendovascular-ready hospital right away. Hope: How would you feel if you wake up and your wife or your husband is next to you. And the next minute they're in the bed and they can't move? But they can have the proper treatment to get them back to be the one you love, because of them getting to the proper facility and having the proper treatment. Corinne: They need to know, they need to get the word out. I want people to know. Because this can happen to my friends, you know, that you grow up with. It can happen to some of the residents that I work for. Meghan: it shouldn't just be lucky people that are treated with these devices, that get that lucky chance at the better life or the back-to-normal life. It needs to be everybody. Text on screen: Help us help them #SurviveStroke