Thanks to quick action, innovative procedure, Crystal Lake stroke victim makes full recovery

Steve Sebby, 33, wasn't in a hurry as he got ready for work one day last January. Maybe he was a little more tired than usual because of a weird crick in his neck that had been giving him headaches.

But, he went through his normal morning routine. Until the “insane dizziness” hit.

How many seconds … or was it minutes … until he called out to his wife, Brittany, who was about to head out the door with their 10-month-old?

Steve didn't know what was happening. His vision was off as if he were cross-eyed. He seemed to have tinnitus and couldn't hear right either.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Brittany took a moment to ask.

Steve started throwing up.

Brittany, a chiropractor, didn't hesitate any longer. She dialed 911.

The paramedics arrived quickly, but by the time they got there Steve couldn't walk up the stairs.

He had suffered a severe stroke and time was his enemy.

Deadly and common

In the United States, someone has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies from a stroke every four minutes, making it the fifth leading cause of death.

But about 80 percent of strokes are preventable, and stroke is largely treatable if caught in time.

Time is key

Nearly 2 million brain cells die every minute during a stroke, so the faster you are treated, the more likely you are to recover without a permanent disability. Most patients must be evaluated and treated within 3 to 4.5 hours of symptom onset for best results, according to the American Stroke Association.

The clock was now ticking for Steve Sebby.

Warning signs

Two weeks earlier, Sebby had been working out, doing front squats.

The former Marine, who served one tour in Iraq, was determined to get his form right. But, in doing so many repetitions with a heavy weight, he got a tear in his left vertebral artery.

At the time, he didn't realize what he'd done. The next day he woke up with a sore neck but thought he had just slept on it funny.

But, the pain persisted.

“It was this aching like you wanted to stretch it, but it just would not stretch. There was no way to alleviate the annoyance … I was taking aspirin all day. I just could not get rid of that pain,” he said.

Unbeknownst to Sebby, over the next two weeks, a blood clot formed and grew larger.

And on that morning of Jan. 22, 2015, the blood clot broke loose and made its way up into his brain.

The clot was so large it stopped in one of the major arteries in his brain which supplies blood to his brainstem. Because it didn't reach the brain hemispheres, he maintained cognitive function but he was losing motor and sensory functions.

Time ticking

The ambulance rushed Sebby to Woodstock Centegra Hospital where doctors did an immediate MRI, which showed he was having an ischemic stroke because the clot was blocking his basilar artery.

Centegra doctors were able to video conference with Dr. Sarah Song at Rush University Medical Center to consult on Sebby's care.

“It was amazing. I'm talking to a doctor at Rush on a TV monitor,” Sebby said. “She's able to do the beginnings of an exam while I'm still in Woodstock. She's directing the nurses in the room as if she's in the room.”

The Rush TeleStroke Network launched in 2011 and provides consultations to 11 area hospitals. The network is expected to exceed 3,000 consultations by the end of this year.

Sebby received a medication known as tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), which dissolves blood clots. But, Rush doctors agreed that because the clot was so large, Sebby needed surgery.

With time as a critical factor, doctors decided Sebby should be flown by helicopter to Rush.

While doctors were moving fast to help Sebby, the effects of the artery blockage were increasing quickly.

By the time Centegra doctors diagnosed him and got Dr. Song involved, Sebby was beginning to feel paralyzed.

By the time he got into the helicopter, he was starting to lose the ability to swallow, and breathing was becoming difficult.

By the time Sebby arrived at Rush hospital, he was completely paralyzed on his left side - from head to toe.

Innovative surgery

At Rush, doctors performed an endovascular thrombectomy.

In this surgical procedure, a catheter is advanced through the blood vessels up to where the clot is causing the blockage in the artery in the brain, explained Dr. James Conners, a vascular neurologist and medical director of Rush's comprehensive stroke program.

A stent is then deployed which ensnares the clot, and it is then removed, Conners said. This procedure restores blood supply to the brain tissue that was starved of oxygen, he added.

“They did brain surgery through my groin basically,” Sebby says, with wonderment. “It's amazing. I'm alive because we're in the future right now. This would not have happened 10 years ago.”

Immediately after the surgery, Sebby began to feel tingling and could move a finger on his left hand.

Recovery

The blood flow returned. The quick action by doctors had paid off. The procedure was a success.

“Without the combined treatment of tPA and endovascular thrombectomy, he (Sebby) would be disabled,” Conners said. “Currently, he has minimal to no symptoms.”

Recent studies show the importance of having the surgery quickly. In a study published last month in the journal “Radiology,” researchers found that for patients treated with both tPA and stent retrievers, restoration of blood flow within 2.5 hours of stroke onset was associated with minimal or no disability in 91 percent of patients.

The likelihood of functional independence was 10 percent higher in patients treated within 2.5 hours compared to patients treated between 2.5 and 3.5 hours after stroke onset, the study found. Every 60-minute delay after 3.5 hours resulted in a 20 percent lower likelihood of functional independence.

Sebby was on the road to recovery but still had some work ahead of him.

He remained at the hospital for 12 days and worked with a physical therapist. He was able to stand up within two days, but he was wobbly.

“It was like my whole equilibrium was thrown off … I would stand up and it would look like the floor was moving. My eyes and ears and brain all had to get in sync again.”

Sebby describes his initial steps as a “drunk walk - like you had drunk 30 beers and spun around on a merry-go-round and then tried to walk.”

Sebby had the perfect partner as he relearned how to walk - his son, Parker.

“We learned how to walk in the same week. Two days after I got home from the hospital, he took his first steps. It's like he was waiting for me to come home,” Sebby said.

He was back to work at his job at Grunt Style as a video marketing manager in about three weeks. He was still recovering and credits his bosses with being very accommodating during his recovery.

Sebby didn't suffer any cognitive delays due to the stroke. After about three months, he went off the blood thinners. He still had pain and remained on painkillers for about 15 months.

Today, he is completely off painkillers. His left hand is still a little tingly, he says, but even that seems to be going away slowly. A musician, Sebby is grateful he can still play guitar and is back to playing gigs in the Chicago area.

Sebby is even back at the gym, under the watchful eye of a trainer.

He realizes he is a lucky man. He survived in Fallujah, Iraq, filming combat with the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines in 2004. He survived a severe stroke that could have killed or disabled him last year.

Sebby does not take his health or his life for granted, and he encourages everyone to know the signs of stroke and to immediately seek medical care if they suspect themselves or someone else is having a stroke.

Don't hesitate. Time counts.

Five things you should know about stroke

For American Stroke Month this May, the American Stroke Association offers five things everyone should know to help stop the nation's No. 5 killer in its tracks.

Anyone can have a stroke (babies, teens, adults) Some stroke patients don't “look the part” and they may not have traditional stroke risk factors like high blood pressure. Stroke is more common in older people, but young adults, teens, children, babies and even the unborn can be victims.

High blood pressure is public enemy No. 1 for stroke About 80 million Americans have high blood pressure, yet about half with the condition do not have it under control. Three out of four people who have a first stroke report blood pressure higher than 140/90 mm Hg, making blood pressure the most important controllable risk factor for stroke.

Stroke is largely treatable Clot-busting drugs and medical devices like stent retrievers have made stroke largely treatable, but most patients need to get to an appropriate hospital to be evaluated and treated within 3 to 4.5 hours of the first symptom. With nearly 2 million brain cells dying every minute during a stroke, there's no time to phone a friend or take a nap. Calling 911 is the best call for stroke.

Stroke targets by race

While stroke is a leading cause of death for all Americans, African-Americans are at an increased risk. Blacks are twice as likely to have a stroke compared to whites, and are more likely to have a stroke at a younger age.

Friends usually save friends from strokeYou've heard the saying “fast friends” — if you're having a stroke, that's exactly who you need nearby. Two out of three times, it's a bystander making the decision to call 911 or seeking treatment on behalf of someone suffering a stroke.To remember the most common stroke warning signs and what action to take, learn F.A.S.T. If you see:F — Face drooping A — Arm weakness or S — Speech difficulty, it's T — Time to call 911