b'A PERSONAL CT SCANNER STORYA few years ago, a landscape crew wasthis, as his condition remained tenuous. The working at our home in Port Perry. I wasback of an ambulance is a challenging en-suddenly called to the backyard to see onevironment in which to manage an unstable of the workers collapsed on the ground.Hepatient. But there was no choice.was conscious, but reported sudden loss ofUltimately,hereachedtheCTscanner strengthandsensationinhislegs. Afterasafely.Thescanrevealedaverydanger-very brief assessment, it was clear somethingousbrainstemstroke.Hisconditiononceserious was occurring and an ambulance wasagainworsenedandhewastreatedasa called immediately.code stroke in the Oshawa ER.Over the next few minutes, the situationFive years on he is thankful for his care. started to deteriorate rapidly. He lost con- Mostofhisstrokesymptomsresponded sciousness,hisbreathingbecameshallowtothetreatmentprovidedbythestroke and irregular, and his colour looked poor.WeDr. Mark Adams team.He has returned to work and manages loadedhimontoasheetofplywoodandwith only minor residual de cits.moved to the road to meet the ambulance directly. TheIn stroke, minutes are brain cells.Lose the wrong cells crew would have had trouble reaching him where he hadand you have lifelong disabilities. He was very fortunate. collapsed, and it was becoming clear that seconds wereHe spent almost an hour in an Ambulance, even though going to count.he collapsed only 8 minutes from the nearest hospital and Withthesituationunstable,itwasdeterminedthatEmergency Room. But no CT scanner. Could the outcome we would need to go into our Port Perry ER to stabilizehave been better?We cant know.But hopefully future him, rather than a direct transfer to the stroke program atpatients and families wont need to wonder. Oshawa.In Port Perry we were able to support his breath-CT helps us diagnose stroke and many other medical ing, initiate IV access, and perform a better assessment ofconcerns, often in emergency situations.hiscondition.Fortunately,heregainedconsciousness,By Dr. Mark Adamsalthough the serious neurological paralysis remained. He was likely su ering a stroke; he could have beenHELP US BRING A bleeding into his brain. The next step was a CT scan ofCT SCANNER TO PORT PERRYhis head. After stabilizing him and reaching the support and To learn more or make your donation, resourcesofourEmergencyRoom,wehadtore-loadvisit www.pphfoundation.cahim into an Ambulance for another 40-minute transferor call the Port Perry Hospital Foundation atto Oshawa for his CT scan. Nobody felt comfortable with905-985-7321 ext 45580.SPRING MARKET IS STRONG AND WE NEED LISTINGS!!Need to clear out your home? Use Betty Jane Short to sell your home and your first bin is on us!Success without integrity means nothing!Betty Jane (B.J.) ShortSales RepresentativeFREEbin with Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc. signed listing 905-985-4427 agreement. 905-261-8992905-260-2261 www.bjshort.comNot intended to solicit properties already for sale.FOCUS - MAY 202113'