It's the third leading cause of death in the U.S., right behind heart disease and cancer. Eight-hundred thousand people will suffer a stroke this year and doctors say every minute that ticks by without treatment means brain cells are at risk.
As an OR nurse, Erwin Elbis has seen pain every day on the job for 26 years, but recently he lived that pain.
"It was probably the worst headache I've ever had," said Elbis.
Elbis had three days of head-splitting pain.
"As soon as I got up, I just fell to the floor, I could not feel my right side," said Elbis on his experience with a stroke. He managed to drag himself downstairs to his car, and in a daze, drove to the hospital, "I just prayed to God, get me there; get me home."
His brain scans showed that the left side was the healthy part of the brain, and on the right, no blood, and no oxygen are seen.
Dr. Michael Rodricks is part of the team that worked on Erwin. First they put a stent in to get the blood flowing, but then came a dangerous fever.
"His body was 102, 103 degrees, so basically his brain was cooking," said Dr. Rodicks, Critical Care Physician Florida Hospital.
Doctors used a new procedure for stroke called normothermia. They use cooling gel pads to reset the patient's internal thermostat to the right temperature, 98.6 degrees. It saved Erwin's brain and his life.
"Without a doubt I think advanced fever control and temperature modulation is the wave of the future," said Dr. Rodicks.
"I was going to be drooling on a bib, in a wheelchair for the rest of my life," said Elbis.
Instead, he's re-focusing his priorities. "The goal now for me is to help others. Support those people that are surviving and struggling themselves to get back on track," said Elbis.
Dangerous fevers hit about 50-percent of stroke patients. The first 24 to 48 hours are critical to control the body temperature, and minimize any more damage to the brain.
