CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing A Million Heart Attacks and Strokes: A Turning Point for Impact - Thank you, stroke caregivers

2015 Milwaukee Heart & Stroke Ball Preview




- Stay.
(whistles)
(thoughtful music)
- Jackson's pregnancy was very normal.
We had a normal delivery.
(plaintive music)
He started making a funny
noise with every exhale.
We called the pediatrician,
and then he said,
"You need to meet me
in the emergency room."
By the time we got to the emergency room,
they just picked him up and took him away.
(dramatic music)
(ambulance sirens)
(sad music)
(upbeat music)
We tried to raise him--
- Just pretty much the
same way as any other kid.
- Right. I didn't want him
to use that as an excuse.
He played soccer and tee
ball and took swim lessons,
and he actually did tae kwon do.
(dramatic music)
- It was clear on his echo
that things were changing
and that the right ventricle, which is
his major pumping chamber,
was not working well.
- We went out to dinner and
he started asking us questions
about heart failure and what
was gonna happen to him,
if he was gonna die.
Things that you never, ever
want to have to answer.
- He had a pretty rapid deterioration.
Not one that I'm used to seeing.
- [Voiceover] I felt like
I was watching my child
fade away in front of me.
Y'know, every time he would
say something, I would try to
remember what he would say,
or how his laugh sounded, or
even his hands, capture all of
his expressions, realizing that
there is a possibility that
that may be all that
I would have with him.
(dramatic chords)
I think at that point we both
admitted out loud that maybe
it wasn't God's plan for
Jack to make it through this.
(upbeat music)
- [Voiceover] He was the
first one in the United States
with his heart lesion that got the device.
(heartbeats)
- It almost felt like there
was nothing in your chest,
because it was just this
thing that was vibrating.
- So he was ecstatic.
- He was crying; calling everyone.
- And I was excited and I
couldn't sleep that night.
- It was devastating.
And then to have to tell Jack was just--
- Unbearable.
- But then you just kind of
get over it. You have to.
- The transplant doctor
talked to us the next day
and told us that Jack was 100% sensitized,
which is the worst that you can be.
- It was the first time we had considered
sending a patient home on a bag.
- She said, "It's a negative crossmatch."
- This is your beautiful left
ventricle. What do you think?
- I always kinda knew
that I'd get the heart.
The Heart Association basically
in their research, saves people's lives.
- All kids with congenital
heart disease are why.
- My family is why.
- Every child with hypoplastic
left heart syndrome is why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrPYglQlbRU


Katie Castrovinci Gioello Stroke Story




(gentle orchestral music)
- On September 11th, 2009,
I suffered from a stroke.
It was 1 o'clock in the morning
and I was on the phone with a friend
when the stroke occurred.
My whole right side of my
body went numb instantly,
I dropped the phone and
lost temporary movement
of my hand during this process
and I automatically
lost my ability to talk.
I went upstairs to try to
communicate to my parents
that something had gone
wrong and wasn't able to
because of my inability to
speak properly at the time.
The next morning, I went to the doctor
and they misdiagnosed
me with Bell's palsy,
thinking that I was
too young for a stroke.
They even said multiple
times, there is no way
that I had a stroke because
I was, at the time, 19.
It wasn't until the next Wednesday,
so almost five days later,
that I finally went to a neurologist.
And they gave me a scan
and were able to figure out
that I, indeed, had a stroke
and they had to figure out
what the source was so that
it wouldn't happen again.
And it was the next day,
after a day of testing at the hospital,
that they figured out I
had a hole in my heart
that needed to be closed.
I continued to go to
school, despite the fact
my doctor told me to
stop and take a break.
I couldn't communicate
well with my teachers,
but my classmates were able
to help me get any information
to them that I needed with my education.
I ended up having surgery
on a Friday in October
and I was back to my classes on Monday
because I did not wanna miss any classes
and get behind in my studies.
And also, at the time when I was meeting,
dating my boyfriend, my now-husband,
he was very supportive,
along with my family,
during this process as well.
And today I am a sixth
grade science teacher
at Paisley IB Magnet School.
I know stroke is a history
for me and my family,
but I will not let it get in the way
when it comes to me and my
ability to teach my students.
It's definitely important to understand
that strokes can happen
amongst people of all ages.
No matter whether you're older
or whether you're younger,
strokes can happen to anyone.
And so, it's good to know
the signs of strokes.
It's good to know the effects.
And also, it's good to understand
that despite undergoing a
stroke, you can still survive.
And I am living proof of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QneIygIQLt8