St. Patrick's Day stroke survivor grateful to be alive
For the Transon family, St. Patrick's Day – and the parade through the streets of downtown Milwaukee – is an annual tradition.
Bob Transon, 76 from Delafield, was on hand for the festivities on March 9, 2024. He had a special reason to be there. His daughter, Elyse, was marching in the parade, leading her very own Milwaukee Irish Dance Studio through a traditional St. Patrick's Day performance.
After the parade, Bob and Elyse met up. As they finished their conversation, Elyse went on her way. Immediately after, Bob slumped over in his seat and was beginning to slur his speech.
Elyse raced back to her dad, and he was unresponsive.
'I grabbed his hand and said, what's going on, it's me, dad, grab my hand. And…nothing,' said Elyse.
They called 911 and an ambulance rushed Bob and Elyse to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee. There, Aurora St. Luke's 24/7 on-call stroke team did a scan that showed Transon had just suffered a stroke.
A stroke occurs when there is sudden bleeding in the brain, known as a hemorrhagic stroke, or when blood flow to the brain is blocked. This is known as an ischemic stroke, and this is what struck Bob. Without a steady supply of blood, brain cells begin to die, potentially leading to permanent neurological damage.
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With Transon 's life in the balance, Aurora's stroke team acted quickly. After the initial scan and just 20 minutes after arrival, clot-busting meds were administered, and he was taken into surgery. Within 80 minutes, a thrombectomy was performed to reopen the blocked blood vessel in his brain and Transon's condition was stabilized.
'The whole reason that these procedures are successful is because of efficient communication from the second the patient arrives to the hospital, getting things ready and prepped. It's a strong team working together very efficiently,' said Dr. Amanda Willcox, neurologist at Aurora Health Care who performed Transon's thrombectomy.
Thanks to response times faster than industry benchmarks, Transon went home two days later and made a full recovery.
'I can't praise the people that helped me out at Aurora St. Luke's enough. If it wasn't for their quickness, there would be more residual issues,' said Transon. 'The hospital staff was tremendous. They said to me 'you're like a walking miracle,' and I attribute that to the speed, the surgeon and the nurses that took care of me.'
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When it comes to stroke care, time is brain. Every second counts. During May and American Stroke Month, it's important to know and recognize the BEFAST warning signs:
Thanks to knowing these warning signs and the quick response of the team at Aurora St. Luke's, Bob and Elyse are able to celebrate more special St. Patrick's Days in the future.
'It's humbling,' said Willcox. 'The whole reason we utilize these technologies is for outcomes like this.'
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