Mobile Stroke Unit Speeds Stroke Treatment
By Kathy Walsh
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A mother of four from Aurora is walking and talking less than three weeks after suffering a stroke.
Doctors credit her quick recovery to timely medical care given in the first Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit in Colorado. It's run by UCHealth and is one of just four in the country.
Inside the vehicle, you'll find a CT scanner, blood testing equipment, medication and the ability to teleconference with a stroke specialist. Treatment begins in a patient's driveway, because with stroke, minutes count.
"I'm a cosmetologist," Katt Austin said slowly.
"I'm still trying to, kind of, get it all together," she told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.
That's because the 39-year-old suffered a stroke on April 30.
"It was a typical Saturday morning watching TV," said Beau Austin, Katt's husband.
The mother of four was home with Beau in Aurora. He noticed her smile was uneven and Katt stopped talking.
"When she did try to respond, it was kind of gibberish," said Beau. "After that, I noticed the right side of her body wasn't moving."
After a call to 911, a new "ER on wheels," the Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit, rushed to the Austin home.
"We have a crew on board who are really well trained," said Vascular Neurologist, Dr. Sharon Poisson of the University of Colorado Hospital.
She was there via telestroke equipment. She examined Katt remotely, even reading a brain scan done on site.
"And that's her blood clot that was causing her stroke," Poisson said showing Walsh the scan.
Within 52 minutes of symptoms, Katt was on a clot busting drug and heading to the University of Colorado Hospital where doctors removed the clot.
"There are a few small areas, but there is not a big stroke here," said Poisson.
Katt knows it could have been a lot worse.
"It's just another bump in the road that we have to get past," said Beau.
Katt needs therapy. But she's walking and talking and improving every day.
Right now, the Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit run by UCHealth operates only in Aurora.
Kathy Walsh is CBS4's Weekend Anchor and Health Specialist. She has been with CBS4 for more than 30 years. She is always open to story ideas. Follow Kathy on Twitter @WalshCBS4.