“To receive such immediate and intensive care, and to carry the capability they do in that mobile stroke unit vehicle, it was amazing,”
Pastor Jim Etheridge is beyond grateful for the UCHealth Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit.
Just weeks ago, he suffered a stroke when he stood up in front of his congregation at Calvary Chapel in Colorado Springs to give a sermon.
“All the letters are moving in different directions. And I thought, well, I better put my finger on the word, and then I put my finger on the word, but I couldn't pronounce the word,” said Etheridge, “It just seemed like I lost control of my body, my movements, my speech, my head was flopping around like a rag doll.”
“Before I even hit the bottom first row of chairs, you know, I was on the phone with 911,” said daughter, Jenny Mota.
Because of family history, his daughter suspected stroke and worked with dispatchers to narrow down issue.
“She made me stick my fingers in his hands have him squeeze. and then it was like, can you repeat this sentence,” said Mota.
The UCHealth mobile stroke unit was dispatched to assist paramedics already on scene.
“The stroke unit showed up, and within minutes, they had him in the back of an ambulance doing a CT scan on site," said Mota.
The unit is staffed with a crew of four.
Charge Nurse, Ashleigh Wright said, “Our goal from when that patient enters the ambulance to when they have that CT scan done is four minutes. But our median time, because we're pretty fast, is about two minutes.”
Brain scans in the field are analyzed by a neurologist who joins the scene through a telehealth connection.
“That scan tells us whether or not we're dealing with an ischemic stroke, which is that blood clot, or a hemorrhagic stroke, which is that burst blood vessel,” said Wright.
During the first year in service the unit has responded to hundreds of calls.
In Etheridge's case the scan showed a clot and a powerful clot busting medicine was injected.
By the time he got the hospital his symptoms were improving.
30 hours later he drove himself home from the hospital.
Wright said, “Units like this save patients about 36 minutes of treatment time, which is a big deal. When it comes to stroke, you lose billions of brain cells every second when you're having a stroke, and you never get those back.
Sooner rather than later treatment reduces brain damage.
Every 40 seconds someone in the United States suffers a stroke according to the Centers for Disease Control
That is nearly 800 thousand people a year.
Quick treatment is also aided by everyday people recognizing the symptoms of a stroke.
It helps to remember the acronym BE FAST.
B – Balance issues
E – Eyesight changes like double vision
F – Face drooping
A – Arm weakness
S – Speech difficulty or loss
T – Time to call 911
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