Margaret Kiemeyer

82-year-old, Margaret Kiemeyer never believed she would be the type of person who would have a stroke. Margaret was very active and healthy but on Jan. 19, 2021, she walked into the bathroom at her home and knew something was not right. She began shaking and “not feeling right.” Her husband recognized that Margaret was exhibiting the signs of a stroke and called 911. When EMS arrived, they transported her via ambulance to Ocala Hospital, the region’s only Comprehensive Stroke Center. When Margaret arrived at the hospital, there was a team ready to treat her and they told her that “they were going to help her.” The team at ORMC administered the clot busting medication TPA/Alteplase minutes after arrival. Brain imaging confirmed that there was a blood clot in a large artery on the right side of her brain. She was taken emergently to the bi-plane suite where she underwent a mechanical thrombectomy, a procedure by which a catheter is placed in to the groin artery and advanced up into the brain to remove the clot.

Margaret was in the ICU for three days following her thrombectomy before she was discharged and says that the ICU team “did a great job watching over me. They saved my life.” When Margaret arrived, she could not move the left side of her body and she was having difficulty speaking. 48 hours after her procedure, all of her deficits had resolved. Margaret encourages everyone to “pay attention to your body” because a few days before her stroke, she noticed her blood pressure had increased significantly but she didn’t think anything of it.

High and uncontrolled blood pressure is a leading risk factor for stroke. To help reduce the risk of a stroke, get plenty of exercise, eat a healthy and balanced diet, and quit smoking if you are a smoker. For more information about the prevention and treatment of strokes, visit our stroke page.