By early September — less than two months after suffering a stroke and having brain surgery — Scott Garrett was back at work.
Fortunately, Keeley Garrett is a nurse, and she was not fooled by Scott Garrett’s story. She checked his blood pressure, and when she discovered it was elevated, she insisted on calling 911. He was taken to a hospital close to their home. “I was asked to stay in the waiting area while Scott was being examined,” says Keeley Garrett. “By the time I was taken back into the exam room, Scott was chatting and laughing with the medical staff. He assured them that his only problem was a ‘touch of vertigo’ — which he had self-diagnosed on the Internet.” The hospital conducted an EKG, CT scan and physical examination and took his medical history but could not pinpoint any reason for Scott Garrett’s dizziness, so he was discharged from the hospital. “A few hours later, I felt that something was just not right. I know my husband better than anyone,” says Keeley Garrett. She called 911 again, and Scott Garrett was taken back to the hospital where a second CT scan revealed a small area of blockage in an artery in his brain. “Scott’s speech was now slurred, one side of his mouth seemed slightly twisted and he had vision problems. The scariest part was when Scott told me he could only see about a quarter of my face,” recalls Keeley Garrett. It was apparent that more advanced care was needed, and Scott Garrett was transferred by ambulance to VCU Health’s Comprehensive Stroke Center in Richmond.
Warren Felton, MD, is a neurologist and medical director with VCU Health Comprehensive Stroke Center in Richmond. He is certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology with a subspecialty in vascular neurology.
Additional tests conducted at VCU Health showed that he’d had an ischemic stroke. Since too much time had passed, he was not able to receive the clot-busting drugs to treat his stroke. “We were fortunate to be at a major medical center,” says Keeley Garrett. “Dr. Felton immediately called in Dr. John ReaveyCantwell, a neurovascular surgeon. He was able to remove the blood clot in Scott’s brain through a catheter inserted through his upper leg.” Warren Felton, MD, is medical director of VCU Health’s Stroke Center.
Scott Garrett was admitted to the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, and after a few days he was transferred to the progressive care neuroscience 58
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floor. “We were all pretty amazed at how quickly he recovered,” says Keeley Garrett. “I was in a hurry to go home,” says Scott Garrett, “and that motivated me. When I first woke up I couldn’t move my left arm or leg. But by the next morning I had feeling on that side of my body. I was anxious for the physical therapist to come help me walk.” “Scott’s short-term memory was impaired. But that only lasts for about two days,” says Keeley Garrett. “The doctors told me I had ‘the trifecta’ — three major problems related to my stroke,” says Scott Garrett. The first was a patent foramen ovale — a small hole between the upper chambers of the heart. Millions of people have PFOs, and they typically cause no problems. Medical issues can occur when the blood leaking from the right to the left chamber of the heart contains a blood clot. The PFO doesn’t cause a stroke, but it does provide a portal where the blood clot can enter the circulatory system and travel to the brain. Scott Garrett’s second problem was a narrowing of the vertebral arteries that carry blood to the brainstem. “That’s what caused my dizziness and vertigo,” he says. “So, my Internet research wasn’t totally off base.” In only six days, Scott Garrett had improved enough to be discharged from the hospital. Unfortunately, he suffered a setback. His third problem was a blood clot in his leg called a deep vein thrombosis. “A few days after going home, I had to go back to the hospital to be treated for the DVT,” he says. “But once that was taken care of, a physical therapist came to the house twice and gave me exercises that I could do on my own to regain my strength. I was on my way.” By early September — less than two months after suffering a stroke and having brain surgery — Scott Garrett was back at work. “I started slowly, working mostly in the office,” he says. “But, by the end of September, I was back to 100 percent.” “For a while, I would have little flashes of anxiety,” he admits. “For instance, if I stumbled over something, I would think, ‘Did