Fargo Woman Thankful After Surviving a Stroke

Health Matters: Surviving a Stroke

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According to strokecenter.com, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. More than 140,000 people die from it each year.

Here’s more in this week’s Health Matters segment.

On average, someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds. We hear from a woman who, like most stroke victims, was completely shocked when she was told she had one.

“I’m just happy I’m here. It was a hard one,” says Debbie Bartholomay of Fargo.

Debbie Bartholomay woke up and went to work feeling completely normal.

“Kirsten, my supervisor, came in and she said, ‘Debbie, are you sure you’re okay? You just don’t look yourself and you’re just not acting yourself,'” she explains.

She went home early for the day and thankfully, her supervisor told her husband of her concerns.

“He sat me up in the bed and called 911,” Bartholomay says.

Debbie was having a stroke. Thankfully, she suffered no changes to her speech and avoided any sort of paralysis. But she is lucky.

“Time is brain. Every minute thousands of cells dies in the brain and the earlier we intervene to treat stroke, the better the outcome,” explains Essentia Interventional Neurologist Dr. Ziad Darkhabani.

And because strokes can be difficult to identify, it’s important to look out for warning signs like sudden weakness of the face, arm, or leg especially on one side of the body, trouble speaking or sudden loss of balance.

If you do experience these signs, there are several resources in the area that offer help.

“Essentia Health has the most advanced stroke and neurovascular team in the region,” Dr. Darkhabani says.

And for people like Debbie, the doctor that helped her may have saved her life.

“I’m just thankful. And I love that doctor. He was great,” she says.

If you or someone you know is having a stroke, doctors say call 9-1-1 instead of driving yourself.