Surviving a Severe Stroke | Mike's Story
Surviving a Severe Stroke | Mike's Story
Mike was always an avid runner. Last year, he collapsed while running on his treadmill. His wife found him and had him rushed to Virtua in South Jersey, where he was diagnosed with a very severe type of stroke. Because his case was so complex, he was airlifted to Penn Medicine, where he was treated by a Penn stroke specialists.
Mike recovered and was almost fully back to normal just six days later. Mike credits the joint efforts of Virtua and Penn for saving his brain and his life.
For more on Penn/Virtua Neurosciences: http://bit.ly/2uBDGmM
Content
1.042 -> MIKE SACCOMANNO:
Running is my therapy.
3.294 -> With working in a stressful job
and with two young kids,
6.798 -> running is my way to unwind.
12.721 -> On April 5, 2016, I was running
on my treadmill in my house
16.766 -> and I collapsed.
18.226 -> I didn't know
what was happening,
20.77 -> and I couldn't speak.
23.606 -> I was able to crawl to a bench,
26.151 -> and after about 30 minutes,
my wife found me.
30.28 -> It wasn't until
I saw my wife's face
32.115 -> that I realized the severity
of what just happened.
38.329 -> - The doctors at Virtua
were able to identify
40.457 -> that Mike was having a stroke,
42.25 -> and because they appropriately
recognized a stroke
45.17 -> and recognized that it was
likely due to a blockage
47.797 -> in this middle cerebral artery,
49.632 -> one of his major arteries
in the base of the brain,
51.926 -> they recommended a treatment
called endovascular thrombectomy
55.388 -> which is where we use catheters
57.932 -> to manually open up
blocked arteries.
60.226 -> And that's only available
at certain hospitals
62.937 -> like at the University
of Pennsylvania.
67.859 -> - By the time we got to Penn,
69.694 -> and they rolled me
into the emergency room,
72.822 -> within 10 minutes,
I was in surgery.
75.366 -> I couldn't believe
how calm I was
77.285 -> and then the doctor
looked at me,
79.078 -> looked me right in the eyes,
and he said, just count down,
81.414 -> you're going to be fine
when you wake up.
83.208 -> It's amazing
that what I went through,
85.585 -> and the stroke that I had,
and the severity of the stroke,
89.464 -> that between Virtua
and Penn Medicine,
92.342 -> they had me on my feet
and back home
94.969 -> and back to work
within six days.
97.597 -> - Mike's case
is a great example
98.89 -> of the power
of the Penn Virtua partnership.
101.726 -> As a South Jersey native,
he was able to get to Virtua,
104.479 -> a hospital
that's close to his home,
106.397 -> it's his local hospital.
107.899 -> They saw him, diagnosed him,
and treated him very rapidly,
111.444 -> and then were able to recognize
112.821 -> that he needed
more advanced care,
114.531 -> and through our partnership,
116.032 -> we were able to get him
to Penn very quickly,
118.743 -> get that blood vessel open,
120.745 -> and get him back home
to South Jersey.
123.873 -> - After the stroke,
I'm lucky enough
125.542 -> to be able to have
the ability to run,
128.878 -> to have the ability to work out.
130.672 -> I have a 14-year-old boy
and an 11-year-old boy.
133.8 -> To be able to be there
and have catches with them,
136.261 -> play baseball with them,
play football with my older son.
139.722 -> If it were not
for Virtua and Penn,
141.516 -> I would not be able to do
143.017 -> the things that I do
with my kids today.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p39kupVugXQ