Stroke: Marry Evans

When Marry Evans returned to her home in Lady Lake after shopping all day in Ocala, she did not feel quite right. Marry called a friend to let them know that she was not feeling well and her friend advised her to go lay down in bed so she would not fall. Marry went to her bed and said she felt “kind of dizzy” and that her “head was spinning.” Marry called another friend and told them to come check on her if they did not hear back from her. Marry said that about five minutes later the room went dark. Marry’s friend did come to check on her and found her slurring her words, and immediately called 911. “I was scared to death, I could hear myself messing the words up and it was at that point I realized I was having a stroke,” Marry recalls.

EMS arrived and after their evaluation, they sent her to the region’s only Comprehensive Stroke Center, at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, via helicopter. “I remember that I was crying and one of the guys on the helicopter took my hand and told me that it would be okay. They told me to stay awake and that they would take good care of me,” Marry says. Marry arrived at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and received TPA, (a clot-busting medication). Time is critical when a stroke is occurring because 32,000 brain cells die every second and 1.9 million brain cells die every minute. The sooner a patient presents for emergent stroke care, the more likely they are to have a functional outcome.

Marry said that soon after receiving TPA, she was able to lift her left foot. She was later discharged home and comments, “The team was so wonderful and the care was awesome."