A new stroke treatment saved my life
Steven feels like his life was saved by a new stroke treatment at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Take me to Ogden Regional Medical Center where a new stroke treatment saved my life!
It was an otherwise regular afternoon when Stephen Gacioch’s wife, Loralee, heard him grunting and making horrible noises. When she came to see what the matter was, she found Stephen lying face down in his own vomit. He was paralyzed and couldn’t roll over. She frantically asked what was wrong, but Stephen didn’t reply. Loralee called 911 and within 5 minutes an ambulance arrived. The paramedics poured into their home, assessed the situation, and correctly suspected that Stephen was suffering from a stroke. Loralee told them to take her husband to Ogden Regional Medical Center (ORMC).
“It happened so suddenly. I just slid off the couch and lost control of everything. I couldn’t see out one eye, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think clearly, and I couldn’t respond to my wife. The paramedics were asking me questions and I tried to answer, but only a ‘sound salad’ spilled out. I remember feeling so helpless. My wife told them to take me to Ogden Regional Medical Center, so that’s where they took me, and thank God they did,” — Stephen Gacioch.
Ogden Regional Medical Center (ORMC) provides new advanced treatment for massive strokes
The care team at ORMC sprang into action. They know that every second counts when someone is having a stroke. Special imaging studies were quickly performed and identified that a large blood vessel in Stephen’s brain was blocked, preventing blood flow to the brain.
Ogden Regional Medical Center recently began offering stroke patients an advanced treatment called endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), which fortunately was able to be used on Stephen. To perform the procedure, the Interventional Radiology team used special X-ray imaging to guide a catheter through Stephen’s body, from a blood vessel in his inner thigh all the way to the blocked vessel in his brain. They carefully dislodged and extracted the clot which was blocking the blood vessel. With blood flow restored to his brain, Stephen started to regain function, soon being able to talk, move, and see again. To Stephen and his family, the immediate healing results seemed miraculous.
“To me, that procedure is a miracle. I know thrombectomy is an amazing technical treatment but to me, it’s also a medical miracle.” — Stephen Gacioch.
After the thrombectomy procedure, Stephen spent the night recovering in the ICU and witnessing the treatment’s incredible effects.
“In the ICU, my son and daughter-in-law and wife asked me questions, and I could finally respond! It wasn’t perfect, but my speech was returning. I could also move the right side of my body. My family looked at me, then looked at each other in amazement. They had seen me before the procedure and after the procedure, and they just shook their heads. They couldn’t believe I had made such a recovery,” — Stephen Gacioch.
While in the ICU, attentive nurses checked in on Stephen’s motor and speech functions, carefully monitoring sequential improvement. By the next morning, Stephen could sit up in bed and even walk slowly around the ICU halls. The top-quality and compassionate care proved successful. Just 36 hours after suffering a massive stroke, Stephen returned home.
“My body was responding and showing great progress. Throughout the whole thing, the staff was amazing. My wife just glowed about the nurses. They always took time to talk with us, they kept encouraging my efforts and because of them, nothing about my stay was a mystery. I felt very cared for.”
I get to live my life! Now I tell people, “If you get a choice in hospitals, go to Ogden Regional Medical Center. They know what they’re doing, and they’re going to take care of you.” — Stephen Gacioch