What We Can Learn from the 10-Year-Old Who Saved His Mom from a Stroke

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Shane Elmore for writing today's blog post. Shane served as Pulsara's Vice President for Clinical Innovation and Development from 2013-2022. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. 

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I recently read an article about how a young boy helped save his mother's life by getting an ambulance on its way, and it made me pause and think. The piece reminded that sometimes it’s the simple things that are most important.

Stroke is the number one cause of disability for Americans and the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. I think it’s safe to say that when it comes to stroke, there is nothing simple about it.

So how did this article about a 10-year-old boy cause me to focus on the simplistic?

In this case, the story was made possible because of a young boy’s ability to recognize the need for an ambulance. The simplest place to start with stroke care is with early identification. When the story is about thrombectomy, it’s a short story with a tragic ending without this key step.

We need to make every effort to educate everyone on the signs & symptoms of stroke. Thrombectomy is an amazing tool that physicians have in their tool kit to care for patients who suffer from a stroke. But, how the story starts makes all the difference in how it ends.

Kudos to the hospital or school system who empowered this young boy with the information he needed to be the hero in his own story! Who can you educate today?