Take me to Mountain View Hospital — they care about me

Ben Gowans, 45, had seen this Avengers movie before, but midway through the film it stopped making sense. The movie felt foreign, odd and discombobulated. At the same time, Ben began experiencing peculiar sensations in his hands; as if his hands were someone else’s. Just then, his 21-year-old-son looked over, eyes widening. “Dad, are you ok?” he asked. Ben tried to say he wasn’t sure, but only jumbled words tumbled out. Wisely, Ben’s son jumped to call 911. Ben was having a stroke.

When treating strokes, time means brain power. Every second counts. So, Ben was rushed by ambulance to Mountain View Hospital

“The first thing they did was take a CT scan — they were incredibly quick about it,” Ben said. “Then they brought in a robot doctor. It was like a screen on a stick. On the screen was a neurologist who specialized in strokes, and he began asking me questions. My mind was clear, but I couldn’t make out the words. My answers sounded jibberish. It felt incredibly frustrating.”

Different types of strokes require different forms of treatment

Ben’s CT results and physician assessment showed he suffered an ischemic stroke, meaning a blood clot had stopped blood flow to his brain. The ER physician and neurologist recommended a clot-busting prescription drug, or tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

“With all medication there are risks. So, I asked the doctors, ‘If this was your spouse, would you have them take the drug?’ Both said yes,” Julie Gowans, Ben’s wife, recalled. “I’m normally a worrier, but from the moment it happened, I was filled with an overwhelming peace. I never once questioned whether he would be ok.”

Ben’s stroke occurred on his brain’s left side, leaving his body’s right side weak, numb and feeling estranged — and Ben sensed life would never be the same

Around 3:15 a.m., Ben’s emotions and frustrations bubbled over. He turned to Julie, tears in his eyes, and said he wished he would have died; he didn’t want to feel like a vegetable.

“I tried countless times to adjust my pillow. I kept grabbing with my right hand but couldn’t feel or grip anything. It was infuriating. If this was what life was going to be like after a stroke, I didn’t want it,” Ben said.

After an open conversation about their traumatic day, Julie, with her peace still intact, asked Ben what could help him feel better. Ben thought about it, and an idea came to mind: a walk.

“When the nurse came in, one of the things I loved most, is she didn’t question him. She clarified and asked again, ‘You want to walk?’ Then she got another nurse, wrapped a belt around him, and they helped him walk the horseshoe-shaped hallways around the nurses’ station. Both nurses praised him and told him they’d never seen a patient able to walk this soon after a stroke,” Julie said. “I watched his mental state change. It made all the difference. He felt like living again.”

The quick, quality healthcare at Mountain View Hospital made life after a stroke possible for Ben, and the compassionate, personalized care made living life after a stroke feel possible for Ben

“Initially, I would have said, take me to Mountain View Hospital simply because it’s close,” Ben said. “But now, I say, ‘Take me to Mountain View Hopsital because they care about me. They listen. They give personal care.’”