From emergency nurse to patient: 24-year-old lives through stroke
AUSTIN (KXAN) – When it came to picking a career, Alex Wilson-Garza felt a calling to serve others – she comes from a family of teachers and first responders, including police officers.
“I felt like nursing was always the right pick for me,” said the registered nurse.
Two years ago, she didn’t imagine the roles would reverse and that she would be on the hospital bed where she works — the emergency room at St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center.
“It was a normal day, I was with my husband,” Garza said. “We were on the couch getting ready to go to one of our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes, when I wasn’t starting to feel too well and from there is when I don’t actually remember what happened.”
Garza said her husband told her that the left side of her face looked droopy, and it was difficult for her to pick up things with her left hand. Garza said the only thing she remembers is feeling dizzy.
“When I finally kind of came to it, I just remember staying on the edge of my couch, and my husband is putting my shoes on, saying that we need to go to the emergency room,” Garza recalled about that day. “I was like, no, we’re not going, I’m fine. Thank God he was persistent.”
Familiar faces greeted her at the ER – nurses and doctors she works with on a daily basis.
“I was surrounded by coworkers, people I trust, fantastic nurses, fantastic doctors, and also, especially my family, and my husband who saved my life,” Garza said.
She said she went through testing, scans, and blood work.
“I’ve done it a million times to other patients, and now it was my turn,” the registered nurse said.
The results showed Garza suffered from a stroke caused by a clot in her brain.
“Whenever you’re suspecting a stroke, time is of the essence,” Garza said.
One of her colleagues, Dr. Trent Roubleau, a neurologist at the emergency room, treated her. He said the longer people take to address a stroke – the likelihood things can get worse.
“Approximately one million brain cells die per minute in an acute stroke. That’s irreversible. We don’t generate new brain cells,” Roubleau said. “The longer the stroke is allowed to happen, the more the brain will die, and the more likelihood exists that the symptoms the person is having will be irreversible.”
The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association use the abbreviation FAST to describe the symptoms. When you notice Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, it is Time to call 911. Both the AHA and ASA said stroke is the nation’s fifth leading cause of death.
Garza was surprised she suffered a stroke because she lives an active lifestyle and eats well.
“My husband, son, and I are always outside, walking the dogs, we go to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together, swim and all that good stuff,” Garza said.
“It’s very rare for a blood clot to develop with no risk factors,” the neurologist said. “Generally, there is a modifiable risk factor, whether it is genetic, or the blood being a little bit too prone to form blood clots.”
There are other factors Roubleau said can increase the risk including hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptives.
“Among women, it’s a significant risk factor that people don’t generally think can cause blood clots to develop, but this is actually a risk factor for stroke,” he said.
The AHA and ASA recently came out with new guidelines to help people reduce the risk of having a first stroke. The guidelines urge health care professionals to screen patients for sedentary behavior, a confirmed risk factor for stroke, according to both associations. The guidelines also want doctors to encourage their patients to exercise. And while medications, lifestyle changes and nutrition help – the AHA and ASA recommend a Mediterranean diet because it has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke. The guidelines also recommend health care professionals screen people for high blood pressure, cholesterol, high blood sugar and obesity. Both associations are also calling for public awareness about the benefits of quitting smoking, increasing exercise, eating better, and focusing on sleep – lifestyle changes that can help reduce the risk.
Garza’s treatment at the emergency room included a tissue plasminogen activator, a drug that dissolves blood clots and restores blood flow to the brain. She also underwent a thrombectomy.
“I was taken to the operating room where they went in, and took a little bit what was left of the clot out of my brain,” Garza said.
After spending two days in ICU, recovery turned out to be a challenge. Garza is used to working out every day, playing sports and it was hard for her to slow down.
“At the time I could barely walk a mile because I was dizzy,” she said. “It took about a good three to four months to get back to the level of fitness I was in. Luckily, I was able to get back to work three to four weeks after the stroke.”
Talking about her experience is getting easier – Garza calls it therapeutic.
“When it first happened, it was really hard for me to talk about because I was very angry, not at myself, I was angry at the world, because, why did this happen to me?” Garza said.
She urges people to listen to their body and to ask whether what their body is feeling is normal.
“I hope one person out there listens and gets checked out.”
Garza said she is not letting the stroke define her and stop her from living her life. Here’s what she said when KXAN asked if this moment in life empowered her.
“Yes, 100 percent! This experience has made me a better nurse,” Garza said.
