Bruce F. Bauman
In July 2006, Bruce F. Bauman had an ischemic stroke following two transient ischemic attacks (TIA) just three days earlier. At the time, he was treated and released from the hospital. Eventually, Bauman moved from South Carolina to Baltimore and was referred to the University of Maryland Medical Center after having another TIA in October. Doctors then discovered that one of the arteries in Bauman’s brain was nearly 90 percent blocked. Doctors at the University of Maryland told Bauman about an exciting new option — the Wingspan Stent, which is specifically designed to treat blockages in the brain caused by intracranial atherosclerotic disease. During this procedure physicians use a minimally invasive technique to deploy the newly designed and FDA-approved stent inside the brain.
Bauman had the surgery in November 2006 and since then, his prognosis has been good. Bauman credits the doctors at the University of Maryland with saving his life. Read his story below.
When did you have your TIA and subsequent stroke? Can you describe what happened?
On July 26, 2006, I experienced a TIA in a parking lot in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where I lived at the time. I’m a certified EMT and at the time I was a volunteer rescue squad member; initially I thought I was suffering from heat stroke. According to the doctors, I’d probably experienced them before and didn’t recognize them.
Someone called an ambulance for me but by the time it arrived the TIA had cleared up with a few minutes. They took me to the hospital, where I had a second attack while in the ER. They treated me with medications and then discharged me after three days.
The morning after I was released I had another TIA (about 3 a.m.) but I fought my way through it. When I woke up about 8 a.m. the next morning, I had double vision and was throwing up. I called my neurologist who said to come back to the hospital. Just after I hung up the ‘big one’ hit, a major stroke. I was totally paralyzed on my right side and partially on my left. My speech was slurred and my eyes crossed (I had double vision known as ocular motility). It was like getting hit by a truck.
When I arrived in the emergency room, the neurologist was waiting at the door. I was given tPA medication, which is used for severe strokes. My neurologist didn’t expect me to live through the day. He thought at the time that at best, if I survived, I’d have a severe disability. I was taken to the ICU later that day (Saturday). By Tuesday morning I was in a regular room, walking and talking. You would never have known I’d had a stroke.
From that point on I was treated chemically as a post-stroke victim with aggressive risk management. I was taking Coumadin, Lipitor, Norvasc and some other medications. I went home about a week and a day after the stroke and was ordered to rest. But I wasn’t getting any rest (friends, family, and acquaintances who visited, called, etc). A friend of mine in Baltimore suggested I come here to get some rest. I moved to Baltimore in September of 2006.
How did you decide to come to University of Maryland Medical Center for treatment?
On October 26th, three months after first TIA, I had another. It was not as bad, it was milder than before but I knew what it was and called my neurologist. He ordered me to the hospital emergency room, where I had tests and was kept overnight for observation. The next day he and my cardiologist met with me and said they wanted to send me where I would get the best care for this condition and where they were doing some new procedures for stroke victims — the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC).
They told me that UMMC neurologists are doing cutting edge work, and I could be a candidate for a stenting procedure in my brain. So on October 27, 2006, I was transferred by ambulance to UMMC, where I ended up seeing Dr. Barney Stern, [Director, Clinical Stroke Program and Director, In-patient Neurology Service at UMMC].
What led to your decision to have the Wingspan Stent surgery?
They took me to the Neurocare Unit and put me through a battery of tests over the course of a number of days. I then met with Dr. Stern, who said I was a candidate for the Wingspan Stent. I told him I wanted a little time to think about it and to consult with my friends and family. Basically I had two options:
Don’t have the procedure and I would be living under extreme risk management. I’d be on a lot of medication and I would have a 22 percent chance of another stroke in the next two years. My basilar artery was 90 percent blocked so essentially I would be living in an ‘egg crate’ for the rest of my life.
Or, get the Wingspan Stent and, assuming it would be successful, I could lead a fairly normal life. The stent would open the blocked artery.
I was introduced to Dr. Bernadette Stallmeyer, [assistant professor of Interventional/Diagnostic Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine] who would do the procedure and Deb Schofield, her nurse practitioner. I was impressed from day one by both of them; they exuded nothing but confidence.
Dr. Stallmeyer explained the procedure so well and in such detail that it actually initially scared me. But she and Deb were very honest. She told me all of the up-and-downsides. She said there was just a 10 percent risk of something going wrong, but they’d be ready for any eventuality … and they were!
I decided to get it done.
When did you have your surgery? What was your recovery like?
They did the procedure on November 2, 2006 and I was in the procedure room for six to seven hours. What’s amazing to me is that I had procedure on a Friday and walked out of the hospital that next Monday. That, to me, is amazing.
What type of follow-up care have you had? What’s your prognosis?
Since the surgery, the doctors have been monitoring my blood pressure and I was on blood thinners (until February), and blood pressure medications. I had my first CT/angiogram recently to see if it was working. My internist, Dr. Graham Snyder, said it looked fine, and my most recent visit with Dr. Stern confirmed that fact. I will undergo another CT/angiogram in May and if that one is okay then we will be doing them about once a year. My whole life has changed. I can’t live life the way I used to, but I can go back to work. For 40 years I worked in broadcasting, advertising and public relations. In South Carolina I worked as a consultant for radio and television stations.
Since I had the surgery I’m asymptomatic and the prognosis is good. The other option, not doing the surgery, I couldn’t live like that.
How did you feel about the care you received at the UM Medical Center?
From a patient standpoint on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, University of Maryland Medical Center gets a 12. The staff, the doctors and the residents were all nothing but kind and accommodating. They were terrific. The treatment was unbelievable. Even the food was good.
The doctors were the best. I told Dr. Stallmeyer that she was my hero. As far as I’m concerned she and Dr. Stern saved my life. They were honest, and they answered every question I could ask. Since my operation they have been available; whenever I e-mail Dr. Stern a question and I always get an answer.
Deb Schofield came to see me the night before surgery. In the prep room the day of the surgery, Dr. Stallmeyer took the time to explain everything to me, my daughter and my friend.
They also treated my family very well. My daughter and best friend were in the waiting room. Someone came in to update them about every 20 minutes during the entire procedure. That impressed me (when I found out) and them. Having someone take the time to keep the family informed and positive means a lot, and it meant a lot to my daughter.
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