He Recognized He Was Having a Stroke

When the September 2004 issue of Healthy You arrived in Charles Peters’ mailbox, an article on “mini-strokes” caught his eye. “My sister-in-law survived a stroke years ago, but I know others who ignored their symptoms and didn't get treatment until it was too late,” says the 68-year-old retiree from Whitehall.

He read the article and memorized the warning signs of stroke—fortunately. Within a few months that knowledge would save his life.

One night the following spring, Peters was unable to sleep and logged onto his computer at 2 a.m. Within 15 minutes, his "mouse" finger went numb. Seconds later, his entire right arm grew so numb it fell off his computer desk. Remembering what he’d read months earlier, he assumed he was having a stroke.

"Call 9-1-1," Peters told a friend. "This is no joke." When the ambulance arrived, he requested that it take him to Lehigh Valley Hospital—Cedar Crest, a certified Primary Stroke Center.

The moment Peters arrived in the emergency department, the stroke rapid response team rushed to his side. They knew the key to surviving a stroke is getting treatment within the first three hours of symptoms. Peters received a CT scan (to diagnose the stroke) within 30 minutes and the clot-busting drug tPA (to treat the stroke) in less than an hour.

This quick response rate puts Lehigh Valley Hospital among the nation's best in stroke care—64 percent of patients treated with tPA have little or no disability 90 days later, compared with 42 percent nationally.

Peters spent the next two days in the special care unit, gradually recovering his ability to speak and move his arm. Three weeks later, he was back to life as normal, driving a car, caring for his neighbor's dog and swimming every day at the Allentown YMCA. "If I hadn't recognized my symptoms right away, I might be paralyzed or worse," he says. "Reading that article saved my life."

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