‘I’m Alive’: Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit Makes Miracle Happen for Patricia

"We identified Ms. Carrico’s large vessel occlusion stroke on the MSTU and took her directly to the OR for emergent mechanical thrombectomy. This certainly made a difference in her care because with this type of stroke, she was losing 1.9 million brain cells a minute. By bypassing the emergency department, we were able to get her definite care more quickly and have the blocked vessel opened up to restore blood flow to her brain." - Nicolle Davis, Director Mobile Stroke Program

Video transcript

My name is Patricia Ann Carrico and I recently had a stroke.

I was in rehab for pneumonia. I was sitting there waiting for my turn when all the sudden, I noticed that my arm was gone, and this side of my face was gone, so I immediately knew that I had a stroke.

The next thing I remember, being inside of a van, I remember a CT scan so that they were able to determine exactly where that clot was, the whole time that I was in the van.

And then they took me into the operating room of their area, and they put me on the table, and in my case, they took the clot and they saved my life. And an hour later, I woke up and everything worked. It was unbelievable to me that I could get through all of that and come through it and say, “I’m alive. Everything is just fine.”

I am so grateful to the UF Health Mobile Stroke Unit. All I can tell you is that it truly is a miracle.