 |
 |
Send to a Friend |
Wrestling with stroke: A teen's story
When Jacob McLellan's parents let him go to the Minnesota state high school wrestling tournament, little did they know that this decision may have saved Jacob's life.
While at the tournament, 16-year-old Jacob had a stroke.
On Friday, Feb. 25, 2005, Jacob and his friends were at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, when Jacob developed a sudden, painful headache and an inability to sit straight or talk. One of his friends used Jacob’s cell phone to speed dial Jacob’s dad, Scott, who works a few blocks away. Scott ran to the Xcel Center and met the paramedics.
Teenage stroke
Jacob was rushed to nearby United Hospital, where a magnetic resonance image showed that half of his brain was not receiving blood due to a large blood clot. Jacob was in the middle of an acute stroke.
Although stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, it happens rarely among younger people. Only about 10 percent of stroke patients are under the age of 55. Less than 1,000 people under the age of 30 have a stroke each year.
Stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, robbing brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells deprived of oxygen start dying within minutes. Thus, medical treatment must happen in less than three hours from when stroke symptoms begin.
Treating Jacob
The stroke team at United Hospital immediately brought Jacob to the neurointerventional biplane suite. The suite has sophisticated X-ray equipment designed to diagnose and treat stroke and other neurological disorders. The equipment allows the stroke team to see the brain, arteries and spine with a single injection of contrast media (dye).
"Most hospitals don’t have this equipment or the trained personnel," says Mark Myers, MD, neuroimaging and neurointerventional medical director of United's John Nasseff Neuroscience Institute.
The team soon pinpointed the blood clot that caused Jacob's stroke. Then Radiologist Michael Madison, MD, directly injected clot-busting medication to the clot via a catheter.
Within minutes, Jacob's headache began to vanish.
Returning to normal
"Once the artery was opened, Jacob quickly started returning to normal," says Myers. "It helped that Jacob was treated within two-and-a-half hours of the onset of symptoms."
Doctors could not pinpoint what caused Jacob’s stroke, but he is surely one of the lucky ones. He has made a full recovery with no lasting effects of the stroke. He was able to return to school the following Tuesday.
"I'm just glad I was this close to the hospital," says Jacob. "I'm feeling good just like before the stroke. It doesn't feel like anything happened."
Related Links
John Nasseff Neuroscience Institute of United Hospital
Cardiovascular disease specialists
Source: American Stroke Association; Michael Madison, MD, neurointerventional radiologist with St. Paul Radiology; Mark Myers, MD, neuroimaging and neurointerventional medical director of John Nasseff Neuroscience Institute, neurointerventional radiologist with St. Paul Radiology; National Stroke Association
First published: 06/13/2005
Last updated: 06/13/2005
Reviewed by: Paul Kleeberg, MD, medical director, Internet Services, Allina Hospitals & Clinics
