Milton girl's quick action saves mom from stroke

MILTON — A 7-year-old is credited with saving her mother’s life after noticing that she wasn’t talking and appeared dazed. The young girl called her father to say that her mom needed urgent help.

Kelsey Cole, 27, of Milton, didn’t even know she had had a stroke until she woke up after receiving a life-saving procedure at Sacred Heart Regional Stroke Center in Pensacola — the only primary stroke center in the region with an endovascular neurosurgeon and stroke neurologist as part of its multidisciplinary team.

That day on Dec. 8 started like many others for Cole: a mad scramble to get four kids ready for school. But on this day, she didn’t feel like herself.

"I remember that my right arm felt numb," Cole said. "Luckily, my mother-in-law was nearby and came over right away. When she found me collapsed on the floor, she thought I had a seizure. I never thought that I could be at risk for a stroke."

Dr. Maria Toledo, an endovascular neurosurgeon at the Stroke Center, said stroke is often considered an older person’s disease, but an estimated 10 percent of stroke survivors are younger than 50. During Cole’s procedure, Toledo used a neurointerventional biplane system to quickly locate the blockage in her brain.

"Time is of the essence for stroke patients because their prognosis depends on how much brain damage has occurred by the time the clot is removed," Toledo said. "A biplane system allows us to recreate detailed 3D images of the brain, producing images simultaneously from the front and back of a patient’s head. Once we viewed the images, I was able to remove the clot in 19 minutes."

Cole’s ischemic stroke was caused by a small hole in her heart, called a patent foramen ovale, which increased her risk for a stroke by up to 25 percent. Because PFOs have no symptoms in adults, a diagnosis usually doesn’t come until after a stroke occurs.

"As a certified regional stroke center, we provide faster, more effective care that can help reduce death and disability from stroke," Toledo said. "We have assembled all the critical elements we need to make a difference in the quality of care for stroke patients."

Due to the quick action by her daughter and care she received at the Stroke Center, Cole is recovering and planning her wedding later this month.

Sacred Heart is part of Ascension, the nation’s largest non-profit health system in the United States.

For more information on biplane imaging and stroke, visit https://www.sacred-heart.org/neurosciences/services/biplane-imaging/.

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This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton girl's quick action saves mom from stroke