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From Down-and-Out to Up-and-About
Although a stroke temporarily debilitated this Highlands resident, she’s now back
on her own two feet, helping herself by generously helping others.
Patricia Dorph has been fairly
healthy all her life. She doesn’t
smoke, she’s not overweight, and she
didn’t think she had any of the risk
factors that could lead to a stroke.
But in 2005, the 56-year-old Highlands
resident and her husband had just
returned home after a relaxing vacation
at the beach when she began having
trouble moving her left hand. Then
her mouth began to droop and her
speech slurred. "I just felt strange,"
recalls Patricia.
A Crucial Diagnosis
Alarmed by Patricia’s symptoms,
her husband rushed her to Riverview’s
Emergency Department, where she
underwent a CT scan. The scan
revealed that Patricia had a main
cerebral artery clot that had resulted in a stroke. She was
treated quickly,
because it’s critically
important to treat
stroke victims within
a three-hour window
of opportunity
following the first
signs of stroke. Then
she was admitted
to the Critical Care
Center for eight days.
There, neurologist
Neil Holland, M.D.,
ordered further tests
that uncovered the
underlying problem:
Patricia had
antiphospholipid
antibody syndrome,
also known as
Hughes syndrome,
an autoimmune
coagulation disorder
that causes the
formation of clots (thrombosis) in the arteries and
veins. In Patricia’s case, the clots
had formed in her brain, causing
a stroke and bleeding.
Surprisingly, Patricia discovered
that she might have always had
the condition, but she never knew
it because it had never caused any
problems before.
A Tough Start
At first, Patricia’s condition worsened.
Her left side became increasingly
paralyzed, she couldn’t use her hand
or fingers at all, and she couldn’t walk.
She had to use a wheelchair, and even
the simplest tasks — like going to the
bathroom, opening a milk container,
or unwrapping the food on her hospital
tray — became impossible without
help. "Because one part of my brain was not getting blood supply, other
arteries kept compensating by sending
more blood to the area causing the
brain bleed," explains Patricia. And
because of the antiphospholipid
antibody syndrome, Patricia couldn’t
take standard blood-thinning medication,
such as Coumadin; rather, she was
given baby aspirin to thin her blood.
The Next Step
Although Patricia doesn’t remember
a lot about those first few days while
everyone waited for the bleeding to stop,
she does recall a therapist working with
her to get her left side moving. Finally,
the bleeding stopped, and Patricia was
transferred to Riverview Rehabilitation
Center, where she began to make a slow
but sure recovery.
"Patricia is an excellent example
of the results that are possible with
a comprehensive continuum of care for
stroke," comments Jorge Corzo, M.D.,
medical director of Riverview
Rehabilitation Center.
"The medical
literature has shown that when patients
are treated in designated stroke centers
by experienced teams of certified
professionals with early diagnosis,
treatment, and rehabilitation, they
do better."
It is also important, Dr. Corzo advises,
to remember that the road to recovery
begins in the hospital and ultimately
continues in the home: "All stroke
survivors will typically need continued
medical, neurological, rehabilitative,
and psychosocial follow-up care once
they are discharged. It is the availability
and the early and ongoing use of these
comprehensive interdisciplinary services
that will not only help save lives, but
even more importantly, will give people
back their lives."
A Strong Finish
Now that more than a year has
passed since her stroke, Patricia
can highlight three things that
stand out about her recovery:
the great support she received
from her friends; the power of
prayer (she was on many prayer
lists); and the "absolutely
outstanding" care she received
at Riverview. "Every day the
therapists and nurses got me up
and going," Patricia says. "They
helped get me from a wheelchair
to actually walking out of the
hospital on my own two feet,
with only a cane."
Today, Patricia, who happens
to be a nurse and whose husband
is a retired firefighter with the Fire
Department of New York, takes
the ferry to New York City three
days a week to work with the
World Trade Center Monitoring
Program, an effort dedicated to
tracking the health of retired
firefighters who were involved
in 9/11. She is also a volunteer
docent for the Widows and
Families Tribute Center at Ground
Zero. And because her syndrome
puts her at risk for another stroke,
she undergoes regular anticoagulant
treatment with a hematologist. But
her experience, while frightening,
has not kept her down. On the
contrary. She remains upbeat,
active, and, most characteristically,
involved in helping others.
 – Diane Gribbin
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