Saved from the Edge of Paralysis: A Narrow Escape
Patient:
An ordinary worker who spent a long time employed in a Middle Eastern (Gulf) country.
Diagnosis:
Acute Infarction in the Right Middle Cerebral Artery.
Patient's Story
He felt something was wrong with his health and knew that the country he was working in would not care for an incapacitated worker. He came home to us. When I saw him at the ER, the BP was carefully stabilized but the pathology of a stroke had already begun to manifest, causing the left side of his body and his left arm to become distinctly weak. However, the “damage control” measures worked and he was left with only minimal weakness of the left side of the face, and the left arm. What could have developed into dense left hemiplegia, paralyzing the left half of the body, and severely disabling him, was averted.
Discussion
The damage control interventions successfully stabilized the patient’s critically elevated blood pressure and halted the progression of the acute middle cerebral artery infarction. The patient was discharged with only minimal residual weakness in the left arm and the left side of his face transitioning from a trajectory of total immobility to one of preserved independence.
Conclusion
While the worst was prevented, the brain injury requires him to monitor his cardiovascular health and blood pressure very carefully in the future to avoid another event.
Prompt medical intervention secures functional recovery and preserves future independence.
