You may not realize it, but your brain is always making connections. It’s home to about one billion neurons and each neuron forms 1,000 connections to other neurons, amounting to more than a trillion connections.
When a stroke happens, these connections are disrupted.
On Jan. 12, 2017, Gary Hansen experienced this disruption first-hand when he suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a life-threatening stroke caused by a ruptured aneurysm that bleeds into the space between the brain and skull, causing increased pressure and reduced oxygen flow to the brain.
Gary was kept awake that night with the worst headache of his life. When he later also became nauseous, his wife quickly called 9-1-1.
He was rushed to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), North Florida’s only Comprehensive Stroke Center, where T. Adam Oliver, MD, endovascular neurosurgeon, and the team in the endovascular neurosurgery lab provided emergent stroke care to treat the bleeding in his brain.
Gary spent the next eight days in the Vogter Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU), under the constant care of his nurses. Although he survived the hemorrhage, Gary was at high-risk for another life-threatening, or debilitating, stroke.
“Dr. Oliver told me that 20 percent of people with this kind of hemorrhage do not survive, 60 percent survive but are paralyzed in some way, and 20 percent walk away like nothing ever happened,” Gary said. “I was thankfully in the last 20 percent.”
While at TMH, his family brought a sign with his favorite saying, “blessed beyond measure” to have on display and serve as a constant reminder that every day is a gift.
With the dedicated support from the team in the Neuro ICU and his family, Gary was discharged walking, talking and enjoying life once again.
“When a stroke happens, time is of the essence. Gary’s wife did the right thing. As soon as she recognized his symptoms, she picked up the phone and made every second count,” said Dr. Oliver. “Gary survived a life-threatening injury and is very fortunate not to have a neurological deficit as a result. Get to the ER quickly and we have everything to save you.”
The connections Gary made with Dr. Oliver, along with his compassionate nurses, physical therapists and speech therapists, stretched far beyond hospital walls.
When Gary, who is a cashier at Publix, was cleared to return to work, he valued every opportunity to recognize any TMH nurse in scrubs who came through his line. He would ask them to say “hello” to Dr. Oliver on his behalf and he would even write “thank you!” on their receipts.
Each year around the anniversary of his stroke, Gary visits TMH with a cake and a warm smile to deliver to the neuro team to express his gratitude for the work they did for him and continue to do for others each day.
During his 2018 visit, Gary and his wife brought a cake that said “thanks for saving my life!” and “blessed beyond measure.” During the celebration, many nurses mentioned talking to him at Publix since his stay at TMH a year ago.
Marsha Hartline, MSN, RN, CNML, nurse manager, neurology/neurosurgery, shared how Gary’s visit left a lasting impression. “Healthcare is so fast paced, the fact that he took the time to come back and say ‘thank you’ was so nice. It really goes a long way here.”
During his anniversary visit, Gary was thrilled to reconnect with Dr. Oliver and his nurses. Being that he has come full circle, he expressed his appreciation for the dedicated high-quality care that was provided at Tallahassee Memorial. With his “blessed beyond measure” sign in hand, Gary felt emotional thanking the people who impacted his life in a way that very few people with his condition get to experience.
Before his stroke, “blessed beyond measure” used to be Gary’s motto for his eight grandchildren, and though it still applies to them, it is now also his motto for having a second chance at life.
