Stephanie had made the long 2-hour drive from her home in Connecticut to her daughter’s house in the South End of Boston to visit for the holidays. She was walking up to her daughter’s home when everything went dark and she began to stumble. She couldn't see. Her family noticed she was weak on her left side and called an ambulance. When Stephanie arrived at Boston Medical Center via Boston EMS, she was evaluated by Dr. Kelly Mello in the ED and Dr. Hugo Aparicio of Neurology who diagnosed her with an acute stroke.
Stephanie was found to have two clots in the back of her brain causing her complete vision loss and left sided weakness. Dr. Aparicio administered to the patient a blood thinning medication called tPA which helped dissolve one of the clots on the right side. She was then taken to the procedure room where Dr. Thanh Nguyen successfully removed the second clot on the left side.
She now reports her vision has returned and her weakness has improved significantly. She is able to walk and talk without difficulty.
Stephanie is very thankful to all of the BMC team members for this "Christmas gift" and who assisted in her recovery. She wishes to make others aware of the symptoms of a stroke.