WSVN — Many people don’t even realize when they are having a stroke, and any delay in getting help could lead to disability or even death. 7’s Diana Diaz shows us how a local man’s life was saved thanks to his insistent girlfriend.
Mike Seemuth stretches every morning, but one day things went terribly wrong.
Mike Seemuth: “At the end of my stretch, I couldn’t get up.”
The left side of his body was numb.
Mike Seemuth: “Inexplicable weakness, but I didn’t feel pain.”
And since he didn’t feel pain, he didn’t think anything was serious.
Mike Seemuth: “A man doesn’t call for help unless he feels pain.”
But when his girlfriend couldn’t get him up, she called 911, a decision that saved his life. Mike was having a stroke.
Dr. Hoang Duong, Director of Neuroradiology, Memorial Regional Hospital: “The danger is, as time goes by and you don’t treat a stroke, the neurons continue to die, and every minute that you waste, two million neurons die.”
A stroke is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain. If not treated, it can cause permanent brain damage or even death.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “We have only four and a half hours to give a clot-buster.”
But if caught early, the damage can be minimal.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “Because there’s potential that we can reverse the symptoms if we intervene very quickly.”
Mike was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, but in this case the damage was severe.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “From this picture, you can see that there is no blood flow to the entire right side of the brain.”
They tried a clot-busting drug, but it didn’t work. They told Marie his only was hope was surgery.
Marie Suarez: “They told me that the alternative was unthinkable, so we took the odds and said, ‘Let’s go with it.'”
Mike underwent a thrombectomy.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “Which is a procedure trying to retrieve the clot or remove the clot in the brain quickly to restore the blood flow to the brain.”
The surgery was a success.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “Showing that the circulation has been restored, the branches filling to supply the entire right side of his brain now.”
But doctors say they wouldn’t have been able to reverse the stroke if Mike didn’t get treatment within the four-and-a-half-hour window.
Dr. Hoang Duong: “He made a remarkable recovery. He was able to move his left side; he walks, he talks like a normal person.”
Mike is back to work as a journalist, and he makes it a point to exercise every day. But he says he would have ignored the symptoms if Marie didn’t insist on calling for help.
Mike Seemuth: “Can you believe how lucky I am?”
They both want to get the message out: If something doesn’t feel right, get it checked out. It could save your life.
Mike Seemuth: “I look at every day as a gift.”
Doctors say, if you experience weakness on one side of the body, loss of sensation or inability to speak, get to a hospital right away. In the Plex, Diana Diaz, 7News.
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