CASPER, Wyo. (Nov. 27, 2024) -- Last Monday, Nov. 18, was a regular day for Ellen Fox. She went to work at her family business, Fox Field Services LLC, where she works in the office with her daughter, Andrea Gomez.
At lunch, she ran a few errands and bought some flowers for another daughter who recently opened a new booth for her hair business. Ellen said that she’s not quite sure why, but in recent months, she’s been very reflective of her life and has been trying to do little things for people.
“I’ve really tried to be more intentional,” she said. “I want people to know how much I love them. I want to participate in their lives, not just be an observer.”
Things changed quickly that Monday afternoon. Ellen started behaving strangely, trying to explain the strange feeling in her hands, which now she thinks was numbness, and laughing uncontrollably when trying to relate the experience.
She was not able to communicate because her speech was already slurred. Andrea knew her mom was having a stroke and called 911 at 3:23 p.m. She normally leaves around 3:15 p.m. to pick up her kids from school, but her daughter borrowed her car and dropped her off at work that day. Andrea says that the time between calling 911 and the ambulance arriving was the longest time in her life.
“She shriveled up in just 10 minutes,” she said. “It felt like forever, I was really afraid my mom was going to stay like that.”
Banner Wyoming Medical Center was ready to take her for a CT scan immediately upon arrival in the ambulance – a key reason to always call for an ambulance rather than driving yourself or a loved one to the emergency room. Instead of walking in and waiting in the waiting room, the hospital was called by the ambulance crew en route so the emergency team prepared to take Ellen directly to the ER.
The CT confirmed it was a stroke. Strokes happen when blood flow is restricted to the brain, usually because of a clot in an artery, which is what was causing Ellen’s stroke.
Andrea met with the teleneurologist where they told her that her mom was the perfect candidate for a thrombectomy, a procedure where a tiny catheter is inserted into the brain to grab the clot causing the stroke. Banner Wyoming Medical Center is the only hospital in the state capable of thrombectomy.
“I just looked at her and she nodded,” said Andrea of her mother. “I said, ‘Yeah, do it all.’”
Ellen’s husband arrived at the hospital just in time to agree to the procedure. He kissed her on the forehead and sent her to the interventional radiology suite. Dr. Charles Bowkley, a neurointerventional radiologist and medical director of stroke at Wyoming Medical Center was standing by with the team. Blood flow was immediately restored and Ellen was able to move and speak again.
“We literally watched her facial droop resolve on the table,” said Dr. Bowkley. “It’s just incredible.”
Dr. Bowkley said that Ellen’s stroke was very large and that without immediate intervention, possibly fatal and at least severely debilitating. He gives Andrea huge credit for identifying her mother’s symptoms quickly and calling 911.
"She is the hero in this story," said Ellen.
Time is critical in the event of a stroke. Further damage to the brain can be prevented or reversed when acting quickly and calling 911. Ellen is able to live her life to the fullest with no disability due to the quick action taken by her daughter to identify her symptoms and get her the care she needed.
Ellen had almost no risk factors for stroke, so identifying these symptoms quickly was key to her survival and ability to lead a normal life going forward.
“Of our whole family, she’s the person you’d think would be least likely to have a stroke,” said Andrea.
In hindsight, Ellen says that there are things that she’s noticed in recent years that she chalked up to aging. Her blood pressure has been a little high, but she’s been trying to exercise and watch what she eats. She’s also felt a little flutter in her heart and a rapid heartbeat, that typically would pass.
Now she knows differently and wishes she had been more persistent in questioning the flutter and rapid heartbeat. The flutter turned out to be AFib, a heart condition where your heart beats irregularly and rapidly.
“Don’t ignore anything,” Ellen said. “Just get checked out. Keep asking questions and check your heart rate and blood pressure.”
The Fox family is heading into the holidays knowing that things could’ve been much different this week. When asked what it means to her to be able to spend the holidays with her family, Ellen said, “Grateful. Grateful for the miracle and God's mercy and grace."
Ellen and her family want to remind everyone of the F.A.S.T. acronym to identify symptoms of a stroke, with extra emphasis on the "T" for "time."
"If you remember one thing in this acronym, it's time is of the essence," said Ellen. "During the stroke I was trying to remember what the letters stood for. I wish for everyone to know the most important one is time!"
In the event of a stroke, remember to act F.A.S.T.
Face: Is the face drooping or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. When they smile, is it uneven or lopsided?
Arm weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Raise both arms – does one drift down?
Speech: Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or difficult to understand when asked to repeat a simple sentence?
Time to call 911: If any of these symptoms are present, even if they go away, it’s time to call 911 and get to a hospital immediately.
About Banner Wyoming Medical Center
Banner Wyoming Medical Center is the state’s largest hospital with 249 beds, more than 45 medical specialties and 13 primary, specialty and immediate care clinics. As a regional trauma and referral center, the hospital serves 11 Wyoming counties with more than 250,000 people and is Casper’s only full-service, non-profit hospital with comprehensive heart, stroke and trauma care. For more information, visit BannerHealth.com.
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Captions for images below:
Ellen1: Ellen Fox walks the halls of Banner Wyoming Medical Center on Nov. 21. Ellen was rushed to the hospital via ambulance after suffering a major stroke on Nov. 18. When asked if she had shoes she could wear for her physical therapy, she pulled out the boots she had on when she arrived at the hospital.
Ellen2: Ellen Fox poses with her two daughters, Andrea Gomez and Dara Wood. Andrea was with her mother when she noticed she was having a stroke and immediately called 911, likely saving her life.
Ellen3: Ellen Fox's CT perfusion study shows the large area of her brain at risk during her stroke. After a mechanical thrombectomy was performed to grab the clot out of her brain, her symptoms immediately resolved while still on the table.
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