Fast Action Saves Eric's Life After Stroke

Eric, a firefighter paramedic, was only 29 and in great shape when stroke took him down. He was between equipment exercises at his CrossFit gym and suddenly couldn’t move his left thumb. Then his left leg started to drag.

“I sat down on the ground and from there it just snowballed,” Eric said.

His trainer, Storm, recognized the drooping left side of Eric’s face as a sign of stroke. Eric was taken to nearby Memorial Hospital West, one of Memorial’s three stroke centers.

Brijesh Mehta, MD, medical director of Stroke and NeuroInterventional Surgery, found Eric had a small hole in his heart and a blood-clotting disorder that led to his stroke. Within 40 minutes, Eric had a mechanical thrombectomy to remove a clot. He was walking the next day and back at work — and working out —sooner than expected.

“Dr. Mehta, along with the people who were involved, saved my life,” Eric said. “I am getting stronger every day.”