Stroke strikes in many different ways. Forty-three-year-old Rae Duplessis woke up with a throbbing migraine headache. She went to work anyway and it wasn’t until 5 p.m. that her symptoms started worsening.
“I couldn’t smile and my arm and tongue were numb. I started to drag my right leg,” she remembers. “When my coworkers asked me to write down my husband’s phone number, I couldn’t.”
Rae knew the symptoms of stroke: F.A.S.T.: Face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and time to call 9-1-1. She asked to be rushed to the emergency room at West Jefferson Medical Center.
Thanks to Rae’s swift response, Culicchia Neurological Clinic physicians at West Jefferson Medical Center were able to administer the time sensitive clot-busting drug, TPA. Rae spent the night at the hospital and was discharged the next day with no residual symptoms.
WJMC’S Stroke Awareness Health Fair is on Friday, May 6 from 8am-1pm for FREE screenings and more. To RSVP, visit: wjmc.org/stroke
Culicchia Neurological Clinic Physical Medicine & Rehab Physician, Dr. Andrea Toomer will speak at noon on Signs & Symptoms of Stroke.
