How Stroke Survivors Are Thriving with Advanced Care

29-Year Old Mother Survives Stroke Due to Thrombectomy

What started as an ordinary day turned life-changing when Jess collapsed at work during a stroke. She had woken up with some neck pain, and thought it was a headache. She took some OTC medication and went about her day.

“I felt my lip and I couldn’t feel it and then my tongue went numb, and I thought, ‘I’ve never had that before with a migraine,’ and my eyes went a bit blurry as well,” Jess recalls. “I just remember having some sort of seizure on the floor. I couldn’t feel my right side and I actually thought, ‘am I having a stroke?’”

Dr. Souhyn Masri, consultant interventional neurologist at the Walton Centre in the UK, used innovative thrombectomy technology to remove the clot. “If I hadn’t had the procedure then the doctor said to me before that I might not even be here,” said Jess. She woke up after the clot was removed surrounded by her family. “I’m lucky, I’ve got two good boys,” she said.

A Stroke Was the Last Thing This Fitness Enthusiast Expected

“Pre-stroke, I was quite fit and healthy,” said Deborah, a civil servant and mother of two living in the UK. “I was preparing to run the half marathon and an ultra run.” One Saturday morning after a week of training, she had a stroke.

“I remember falling in a slow, slow motion to the left. Like my body just started dropping,” she recalls. Her son found her on the floor and called the ambulance. “The ambulance crew was there, my husband was there, and they were all talking about a stroke. I was like, ‘no, I haven’t had a stroke. I’m too young to have a stroke. I’m too fit to have a stroke.’”

Dr. Sanjeev Nayak, M.D., consultant interventional neuroradiologist at University Hospital of North Midlands, UK, performed a mechanical thrombectomy that saved Deborah’s life. “We performed the procedure using one of the newer devices. Procedure time itself was under five minutes because of these new advances,” says Dr. Nayak. “I feel very proud that the industry is working to come up with more and more innovations, which help with faster and quicker recanalization times,” which result in better outcomes and fewer complications, he said.

“Without that machinery and that mechanical thrombectomy taking place, I wouldn’t be here now,” said Deborah.

Important Safety Information

Additional information about Penumbra’s products can be located on Penumbra’s website at https://www.penumbrainc.com/products/red-reperfusion-catheters/. Caution: Federal (USA) law restricts these devices to sale by or on the order of a physician. Prior to use, please refer to Instructions for Use for complete product indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, potential adverse events, and detailed instructions for use. Risk information can be found at peninc.info/risk.

The clinical results presented herein are for informational purposes only, and may not be predictive for all patients. Individual results may vary depending on patient-specific attributes and other factors.