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Gary Ackerman, Stroke Survivor

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Every weekday morning, Gary Ackerman walks to West Rutland School, where he and his wife Lynn teach computer classes. Both graduates of Rutland High School, Gary and Lynn are raising their two boys in the place they’ve always called home.

It was early on one of those school mornings that Gary tried to get out of bed, but realized that he couldn’t move or talk.

With a strong family history of heart disease, he wondered if he was having a heart attack.

His son Dwight called 911.

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In the ambulance, the paramedics were the first to recognize that Gary was having a stroke.

At Rutland Regional Medical Center, Emergency Department physician John Hartmann, M.D. examined Gary and ordered a computerized tomography (CT) scan.

Says Kirk Dufty, M.D., director of the Rutland Regional Emergency Department, “Quick identification was key. Once the CT scan identified a blood clot blocking one of the blood vessels leading to Gary’s brain, we called Fletcher Allen and asked to speak to a Stroke Center physician.

We were immediately connected to the attending on call. Because of this rapid response system, we were able to have Mr. Ackerman receive the care he needed—without a minute to lose.”

Soon Gary was on a helicopter, headed to Burlington.

By the time Gary arrived at Fletcher Allen, he was comatose. A series of more detailed CT scan images identified a blockage of the basilar artery, one of the arteries that supplies the brain with oxygen-rich blood.

Interventional Neuro-radiologist Grant Linnell, D.O., performed a cerebral angiogram. Using a combination of clot-dissolving medications and a very small corkscrew-like device directed from an artery in Gary's leg through the blood vessels and into the brain, he was able to remove the blockage.

Gary stayed at Fletcher Allen for a week. During that time, he received care from a team of providers, including neurologists, nurse practitioners, and physical, occupational and speech therapists.

Within a few weeks, he had recovered completely.

Says Mark Gorman, M.D., Stroke Center director, "Gary survived what could have been a devastating stroke because of many factors: the efficient recognition by the EMTs and by the staff at Rutland Regional that he’d had a severe stroke; his rapid transport, and the excellent care he received here."

Several months after being discharged, cardiologists at Fletcher Allen discovered the probable cause of Gary’s stroke: he had a small hole in the wall between his right and left atria. Fletcher Allen’s Cardiac Catheterization team, led by Cardiologist Prospero Gogo, M.D., used catheters and a special device to seal the hole, with scar tissue forming over several weeks.

Today, Gary’s stroke seems like a thing of the past.

"I couldn’t have asked for better care," he says. "I had experts in every aspect of my care working hard to help me get better. The level of skill and the warmth of the staff throughout my experience were just outstanding."