June 26, 2016
Former Airman, Stroke Survivor Tells of Life Punctuated by Commas
When stroke survivor R. Brady Johnson first visited Mayo Clinic nearly nine years ago, his doctors didn’t quite know what to make of him. Not only was his stroke, at age 31, unusual, but his post-stroke physicality surprised the team of neurologists he’d come to see. It had been just over a year since Brady, […]
Tags: Cerebral Hemorrhage, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, stroke
May 23, 2016
Celebrating 40 Twice as Nice After Recovery From Surprising Stroke
It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and despite having house guests, Sherry Pinkstaff, Ph.D., awoke at 6 a.m., just as she did every day, and began planning her morning run. Sherry, then 39, ran daily. Exercise was important to her. After all, she’d made it her career. She was a professor of physical therapy at […]
Tags: Cardiovascular Diseases, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Dr. Benjamin Brown, Florida Campus, Patent Foramen Ovale, Sherry Pinkstaff, stroke
May 19, 2016
Teacher Smelling the Roses Again Thanks to Minimally Invasive Heart Procedures
For years, Lucy Lorden suffered from an irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath. But one April morning in 2014, the Ormond Beach, Florida, elementary school teacher was barely able to walk from the parking lot to her classroom. Thinking she had pneumonia, Lucy, then 56, went to see her primary care doctor. “The doctor told […]
Tags: Ablation, Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, Florida Campus, irregular heartbeat, stroke
January 15, 2016
Stroke at 36 Comes as Shock, Reveals Deeper Issues
Scott Gunderson is a typical working father of three young children. His days typically are full of meetings, play dates, golf games and helping manage his busy family’s calendar. You likely wouldn’t guess that the 38-year-old from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, is a stroke survivor and heart valve patient.
Tags: Eau Claire, Endocarditis, Mayo Clinic Health System, stroke
May 11, 2015
Brain Hemorrhage Can’t Keep Cyclist From Pedaling On
At age 42, Donnie DeWitt was the picture of health. A former Marine, he loved to run, surf and was an avid cyclist. But three years ago, while on a bike ride near his home in St. Augustine, Florida, Donnie collapsed. He’d suffered a massive brain hemorrhage that led to a stroke. He was brought […]
Tags: brain hemorrhage, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Dr. Ronald Reimer, Florida Campus, stroke
May 4, 2015
Young Stroke Survivor Raises Awareness and Educates
Editor’s Note: This guest post is written by Amy Edmunds, founder of YoungStroke. In 2002, I was a daily commuter to Capitol Hill who worked in sales management. Never did I think I would someday return to testify as a patient advocate at Congressional hearings on behalf of young stroke survivors. But then again, never […]
Tags: Comprehensive Stroke Center, Dr. David Miller, Florida Campus, stroke
May 16, 2014
#StrokeMonth: From Victim to Therapist
It’s been almost three years since Sean Bretz collapsed. Unbeknownst to the then 23-year-old U.S. Coast Guardsman, a giant aneurysm had burst in his brain, causing a massive stroke. “His prognosis was grim,” neurosurgeon Rabih Tawk, M.D., recalls. “We used every technology available to help him.” Despite complications and issues, which required him to be induced into […]
Tags: Aneurysm, bretz, Dr. Rabih Tawk, Rehabilitation, Sean Bretz, stroke, stroke center, therapy
May 9, 2014
#StrokeMonth: It’s a Numbers Game
Written by Lesia Mooney, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Mayo Clinic’s Advanced Primary Stroke Center in Florida. 795,000. That’s the number of people annually in the United States who have a stroke. 130,000. That’s the number of Americans who die each year due to stroke. $36.5 billion. That’s the cost of stroke annually, which includes the cost of health care […]
Tags: American Stroke Association, High Blood Pressure, high cholesterol, Lesia Mooney, MayoClinicFL, stroke, stroke center, strokemonth