Deans' stroke musings: Somerset stroke survivor calls for thrombectomy access nationwide

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Somerset stroke survivor calls for thrombectomy access nationwide

NOT GOOD ENOUGH! This is only the first step to full recovery. With no protocols to stop the 5 causes of the neuronal cascade of death in the first days you'll still kill off billions of neurons, vastly reducing your rehab chances to succeed in recovery.

Somerset stroke survivor calls for thrombectomy access nationwide

A woman whose life was saved by a stroke procedure is backing calls by the Stroke Association to have it made available to patients nationwide.

Linda Beale, from Chilcompton, Somerset, had a thrombectomy, where the clot in her brain was physically pulled out rather than dissolved with drugs.

The goal of the NHS is to treat 10% of all strokes with method but only 28% of that target has been reached.

NHS England said it was working to improve stroke treatment services.

Ms Beale had her stroke in April 2018 and collapsed at work.

She was rushed to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and injected with clot-dissolving drugs and was then taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

"The doctor told me it could cause a bleed on my brain, but if I didn't I would be very disabled," she said.

A wire was inserted into her brain via the groin and the clot was pulled out, immediately returning movement to Ms Beale.

"The doctor asked me if I could raise my left leg, I raised it and was so relieved to get movement back.

Linda and Steve Beale — Image caption,
Ms Beale completed the Race for Life in Bath just four months after her stroke

"It's saved the NHS money to give me the thrombectomy.

"I didn't have to have any occupational therapy, I don't need carers and I can contribute to society. We all deserve to have the same chance," she said.

Thrombectomies are not suitable for all strokes, only ones with clots in arteries big enough to fit the wire into.

The Stroke Association is calling on the government to make it available nationwide 24/7.

"It's shocking that so many patients are missing out and being saddled with unnecessary disability," said Jacqui Cuthbert from the charity.

An NHS spokesperson said: "Teams across the country have continued to improve stroke prevention and treatment services - including access to thrombectomy - in line with our long term plan ambitions to save more lives.

"We are supporting local clinicians to deliver 24/7 access to thrombectomy, clot-busting drugs and other life-saving specialist stroke services in every part of the country."