ichard Bond was on the phone, placing an obituary for his mother last fall, when the dizziness set in and the headache began to crescendo. He popped two aspirins and forged through the dismal task; by the time he hung up the phone, he realized the entire left side of his body felt tingly and wrong. Suddenly, he was slick with sweat.

“It forced me to sit down and put my head in my hands,” said the 58-year-old Colorado Springs engineer. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?'”

As his wife called 911, Bond emptied his pockets and went to lie on the couch.

“I never lost consciousness, but my mind was going 100,000 miles an hour,” said Bond, who was able to walk out on his own to meet paramedics when the ambulance arrived. “I couldn’t grab onto any one thought other than to notice the streets as we passed and think if they took (a different street) it would be faster. It was funny, the EMT lady said ‘Listen, buddy, you’re having a stroke. Just lay back. We’ll handle the driving.'”

Paramedics know that during every minute of a stroke, oxygen deprivation kills almost 2 million brain cells. Time equals brain.

“They’re trained to recognize stroke and to take the patient to the nearest hospital that’s a stroke center that can manage and offer treatment for stroke 24/7,” said Dr. Janice Miller, a neurologist and medical director of the stroke program at Memorial Hospital. Penrose-St. Francis Health Services also is a certified primary stroke center.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year more than 795,000 Americans suffer a stroke – a sudden “brain attack” resulting from a blocked or, less commonly, broken blood vessel, during which the brain is deprived of blood and vital oxygen supplies. May is National Stroke Awareness Month.

“Studies throughout the world have really shown that people who are treated quickly are going to get better more quickly, with fewer complications. If people come in and get treated in less than 60 minutes, at least 25 to 35 percent will have a good outcome,” Miller said. “The longer the time from start of stroke to treatment, the less likely one is able to walk out the door, be able to be independent at home, be able to go back to working.”

When Bond’s ambulance arrived at Memorial Hospital, he was met by a pre-assembled stroke team, whisked inside for more tests to confirm the stroke and treated with an intravenous tissue plasminogen activator, or t-PA, a clot-dissolving drug and the go-to treatment for strokes caused by blockages. The sooner the drug is administered after a stroke, the better it works.

“With the stroke, the clot lodged in the right side of my upper neck heading to the brain, and that’s why my left side was being affected,” said Bond. “My vision was double, my left side was going immobile, and my speech impaired to a point that in my brain I was screaming and yelling, but I was almost inaudible to people around me. The administration of that drug so quickly probably saved my life and certainly my way of life.”

Eight months after the stroke, Bond is still working his way back – but on his own two feet.

“I’m only at about 75 percent, but I am now walking and my left side is functional again and my double vision has subsided,” said Bond. “As it turned out, nothing that the stroke caused was irreversible. Eventually I will get everything back.”

Doctors were unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the stroke, Bond said.

“I had good blood pressure, no hypertension, good HDL and LDL; I didn’t have any of the signs that could indicate a person might have a stroke, which is scary in and of itself,” said Bond. “This was totally not on the radar before.”

Factors like age, unhealthy cholesterol levels and blood pressure can mean increased risk of stroke, but not necessarily. Miller has treated marathon runners and vegetarians, as well as people in their 20s and 30s.

“There can be uncommon causes of stroke in young people, so don’t discount it just because you think you’re healthy,” Miller said. “We still see a lot of people who wait. I think it may be human nature to have a little bit of ‘Oh it can’t be me,’ but it’s absolute critical that if you even think you might be having a stroke, don’t delay,” Miller said. “Don’t try to call your doctor’s office, don’t try to call your cousin who’s a doctor in Cleveland. Call 911.”

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DETAILS

FAST: Stroke warning signs

Face – Weakness in face or visible droop

Arms – Weakness or numbness of one side of body

Speech – Sudden changes in speech; slurred, inaudible or nonsense speech

Time – Call 911 immediately

– strokeassocation.org