Teamwork Helps Lynn Survive a Stroke
Trauma, vascular surgery and cardiology teams get Green Lane man back with his family
Don’t tell Lynn Miller that he’s retired. “I’m ‘gainfully unemployed,’” jokes Lynn, an 87-year-old who spent nearly 40 years working for the U.S. Postal Service. Lynn loves to laugh. He also enjoys spending time with his family, his church, and watching the Phillies on TV.
In April, after watching his favorite baseball team play an early season game, Lynn walked up the stairs of his Green Lane home. His wife, Dorothy, saw him and noticed something was off. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Nothing,” Lynn remembers thinking to himself. But Dorothy knew better. She could tell that Lynn seemed confused and was having trouble talking. Fearing that he was having a stroke, Dorothy called 911.
An ambulance rushed Lynn to the Level II Adult Trauma Center at Grand View Health, where some of his family members were already awaiting his arrival.
Searching for the cause
Inside the Trauma Center, an emergency medicine team stabilized Lynn. “His symptoms had actually started to improve on his way to the hospital, which is typical for many stroke patients,” says vascular surgeon Eric Olivero, MD, with Grand View Health Surgery, part of Lynn’s care team.
Together, the trauma, vascular surgery and cardiology teams worked to determine what had caused Lynn’s health crisis. An MRI revealed that Lynn had suffered an ischemic stroke, triggered by a blockage in an artery leading to his brain. A CT scan then confirmed that Lynn had a 90% narrowing of his right internal carotid artery, caused by plaque that had formed from years of cholesterol buildup.
“This was an important finding, because 25% of people who have a stroke related to carotid disease will have another stroke within the next several weeks unless something is done to prevent it,” Dr. Olivero says.
Preventing a recurrence
To give Lynn the best chance of long-term recovery, Dr. Olivero performed a carotid endarterectomy. “It’s a very delicate surgery,” Dr. Olivero explains. “We clean the plaque out of the artery, while at the same time putting a temporary shunt into the artery to maintain blood flow to the brain.”
Following the procedure, Lynn spent about a week at Grand View Health, where he remained in good spirits, joking around with Dr. Olivero and the nursing team. “Dr. Olivero did a magnificent job with the surgery; I had no post-op problems,” Lynn says. “My nurses were by my side constantly. The whole staff was excellent in their communication and professional care.”
After leaving Grand View, Lynn rehabilitated for a week at a skilled nursing facility near his home. He then received continued outpatient care from Dr. Olivero and his cardiologist, J. Doyle Walton, MD, with Grand View Health Cardiology Alderfer and Travis.
At his last follow-up appointment, Lynn asked Dr. Olivero two questions: When could he get back on his lawn tractor, and when could he drive his Buick again. “Dr. Olivero’s answers were ‘yesterday’ and ‘the day before yesterday,’” Lynn says with a chuckle.
Complete recovery
Three months after his stroke, Lynn is walking, talking and living life as if his stroke never happened. He and Dorothy are back to a favorite pastime — doing jigsaw puzzles. “Everything worked out the way it was supposed to, and I believe it’s because of all the love, support and prayers from my family and my ‘faith family’ at my church,” Lynn says.
Now, he’s sharing his story to help others who suffer a stroke get the care they need to survive and thrive. “Everyone tells me they want to know how I got back to normal so quick, and I tell them it was thanks to the team at Grand View Health,” he says.
Meet the Surgeon
Eric Olivero, MD, with Grand View Health Surgery, is double-board certified in general and vascular surgery. He completed fellowship training in vascular surgery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
He was recently honored by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Vascular Surgeons, one of only 18 in Pennsylvania to make the list.
Learn more about Dr. Olivero. Visit GVH.org/Olivero or call 215-453-3400 to schedule an appointment.