Shauna Gholson says that she is alive today because of her family’s quick actions. A daily phone call to her sisters saved her life.
Even though they are separated by miles (Gholson lives in Hobart and her sisters live in Sacramento, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT), they stay close with daily calls. Gholson was on one of these calls with her sisters this past June when she had a stroke.
“My sisters asked what was wrong with me,” Gholson says. “They both said I was slurring my words. I don’t remember much after that, but I do remember that my nurses told me that my sisters saved my life.
EMS called a stroke alert from the field, notifying St. Mary Medical Center, a Primary Stroke Center, that Gholson was on her way. Through stroke legislation passed in the State of Indiana, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) use established rapid triage and transfer protocols to take patients to the closest hospital best equipped to treat the appropriate level of stroke symptoms.
St. Mary Medical Center’s stroke team was in place upon Gholson’s arrival and she immediately underwent a CT scan. Through telestroke technology (stroke telemedicine), board certified vascular neurologists from Community Healthcare System are brought to the patient’s bedside for a stroke assessment through a mobile video robotic system. Gholson was well within the 4.5 hour window of symptom onset and St. Mary Medical Center’s Emergency Department doctors administered the IV tissue plasminogen activators or tPA. This protein works to break down blood clots. However, even with medication, some clots require a higher level of intervention.
Gholson was airlifted by helicopter to sister hospital and Comprehensive Stroke Center at Community Hospital in Munster for complex surgery.
Neuroendovascular neurologist Sherman Chen, MD, on staff at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System, says that Gholson’s right sided blockage required a surgical procedure called a mechanical thrombectomy (MT).
From Gholson’s admission to St. Mary Medical Center and surgical intervention at Community Hospital, the entire treatment process took 1 hour and 45 minutes (door-to-surgical intervention time). Her outlook for a full recovery is good.
“The most important thing the public needs to know is not only the signs and symptoms of a stroke and to call 911 immediately, but also to have a clear time of symptom onset,” Chen says. “Knowing the time that Shauna’s symptoms started enables healthcare providers to know what treatment route to take for the stroke.”
For more information about stroke care at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org/stroke.
