Stroke left teen paralysed, fighting for life… but together they saved him

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and the additional burdens being placed on our health staff, it is worth remembering the everyday, non-Covid miracles that continue to be performed by healthcare workers. here, stroke physician Dr Liam healy tells the incredible story of a Cork teenager who was saved from a potentially devastating stroke by the quick intervention of medics who performed a thrombectomy. In a series of posts on social media, the leading doctor describes the moment the 17-year-old was found collapsed in his home by his mother, and how he defied the odds in making a full recovery.

‘ROGER is from Cork. He is 17 years old. He is finding this lockdown boring. It means he can’t train or play with his soccer club, Douglas Hall, nor his GAA club, Nemo Rangers.

Roger’s lazy Saturday afternoon is about to change in a dramatic way. His mother, Derbhile, wanders into the sitting room where he has been whiling away the day. To her horror, she finds him collapsed on the ground. He can’t move. He can’t speak to tell her what’s wrong. Terrified, she immediately calls 999.

An ambulance arrives. Two paramedics quickly assess and stabilise Roger. They realise he is critically ill. He is taken to Cork University Hospital where he is seen and assessed immediately by the emergency medicine team.

‘He can’t speak to tell her what’s wrong’

Roger is paralysed down his right hand side. He can’t speak properly. He can’t see properly. The emergency medicine team thinks he may have had a stroke. He is brought quickly to the Radiology Department, where he has advanced imaging of his brain and its blood supply.

Roger – a fit, healthy 17-year-old – has indeed suffered a severe stroke. His middle cerebral artery, the main blood supply to left hand side of his brain, has become blocked by a blood clot. He is facing a lifetime of disability.

Meanwhile, consultant interventional neuroradiologist Dr Gerry Wyse is at home this same Saturday afternoon. He is not on call. His phone rings. Within 20 minutes of getting this call, he is already in CUH, organising his team as they rapidly attempt to save Roger’s life.

With help from critical care colleagues, Roger is quickly put to sleep. With the aid of skilled radiographers and nurses, who have also raced in to help, Dr

Wyse and his team perform a thrombectomy. The blood clot is removed, but it is not yet clear what damage has been done. Roger is brought to the Acute Stroke Unit, under the care of stroke neurologist Dr Aine Merwick. By the very next day, he is up and about, moving all of his limbs, walking and talking, bewildered by the fuss people are making of him.

He undergoes a series of investigations over the ensuing days. Because of Covid-19, his mother Derbhile hasn’t been able to see him in person. Four days

later, she shares a tearful reunion with her son in the hospital lobby as she picks him up to take him home.

Before they leave, they call to the Radiology Department to thank the team that saved his life.

I wasn’t directly involved in Roger’s care, but a whole host of my colleagues were, including the ambulance service, emergency medicine team, anaesthetics, radiology and neurology, as well as portering, administrative staff, therapists, doctors and healthcare assistants.

I am very grateful to both Roger and his mother Derbhile for allowing us to share his story. We do so to try to improve public awareness of acute stroke care and to highlight our work here in CUH as we continue to develop and improve our stroke service.

Thrombectomy is an enormously powerful stroke intervention. It is also hugely cost effective. Here in CUH, we have performed 16 thrombectomies in just the last month, for people ranging from 17 through to 91 years old. Not all are as dramatic as Roger’s.

CUH is the busiest inpatient stroke service in Ireland and the specialist stroke centre for the people of Munster. Stroke is the second biggest killer worldwide and the leading cause of acquired adult disability. One-in-five people will suffer a stroke during their lifetime.

Roger is now back at home, idling away another weekend, waiting, like many of his Cork friends, for the world to get back to normal so he can get back outside playing sport.

His Mum, Derbhile, is just thankful he is home.’

Dr Healy shared Roger’s story on Twitter