NEENAH, Wis. — When a stroke strikes time can be a matter of life and death.
A brave teenager saved his grandpa's life when he suffered a stroke in Menasha.
It started out as a normal day. Dennis Clow took a trip to the hardware store with his grandson.
When they returned home things took a scary turn.
"I couldn't move," said Dennis Clow. "My whole right side was completely paralyzed."
At first Dennis resisted his grandson's request to call 911.
"He said it's fine. I'll be fine," said Skylor Maynard. "I'm like this doesn't seem normal."
After some persistence from Skylor they made their way to the ER.
"There were like 6 or 7 doctors in there," said Maynard. "I heard the one of them say he could die."
Dennis had suffered a stroke and had 2 more while in the hospital.
He pulled through.
From there he spent a week in recovery and then was moved to a rehab center for therapy at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Neenah.
Doctors said when it comes to having a stroke time is everything so it is important to call 911 or get the person to the emergency room right away.
"I think a lot of people get scared, a lot of people are in denial," said Dr. Thomas Mattio with Neuroscience Group and the Medical Director of the ThedaCare Stroke Center. "Some people just don't recognize the symptoms of a stroke. They think they woke up and their arm doesn't move so they think they slept on it wrong. They give it through the day to see if it gets better and it doesn't so they show up at night and it's too late."
Luckily for Dennis, his grandson who was 14 at the time kept on him to get to the hospital.
"I mean that took a lot of courage for him," said Clow. "He knew there was something wrong."
Dennis continues his recovery at home and has gained back some mobility in his arm and leg.
He was even honored as a stroke survivor at a Timber Rattlers game at an event called Strike Out Stroke.
"Nowadays I've seen studies that there are more and more children being raised by grandparents because of other things going on in our society," said Dr. Mattio. "It's important for those children to understand these risk factors and signs and symptoms of a stroke in order to help their grandparents out."
Warning signs of a stroke include:
- weakness to one side of the body or the other
- a change in the ability to speak
- a change in the ability to understand speech
- headache
- vertigo
- double vision
- a drooping face
Skylor's message to kids spending time with their grandparents is don't hesitate.
"Go with your gut instinct. Call 911," said Maynard. "I know everyone would rather have their grandparents mad at them then take the chance of them dying."
Since his stroke Dennis has become an advocate for understanding the warning signs.
He will be featured as a survivor at the American Heart Association's 2019 Fox Cities Heart & Stroke Walk.
The event is coming up on September 29th at Fox Valley Technical College.
Festivities begin at 8 a.m. with the walk kicking off at 9:15 a.m.
To take part and show your support for heart and stroke health, click here.
