Briena Grant
After an unexpected stroke at 24 years of age, Briena Grant was airlifted to Swedish Medical Center.
Briena Grant was just 24-years-old and pregnant when she had a stroke in her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She tried to steady herself but soon passed out. “I was a little dizzy and my head started hurting a little bit so I sat down on the toilet in the bathroom to regain my senses and the next thing I know I’m laying on the ground and I hear my puppy scraping at the door and barking at me,” Briena said.
From the ground, Briena was able to swat her phone off the counter and used Siri, the voice activated digital assistant, to call her friend for help. When she arrived, the friend recognized the signs of a stroke and called 911 to get Briena to their community hospital.
Her care team in Cheyenne arranged an Air Life flight to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado, a Level 1 Trauma Center and home to the Swedish Neuro Network, a nationally leading team of experts in neurologic care. The team, including an OB/GYN, was assembled while Briena was in the air and began diagnosing her condition so they could begin lifesaving care as soon as she arrived. “We had a heads up from our teleneurologist that she was 24 weeks pregnant and was coming in with what we call a large vessel occlusion,” said Jasmine Johann, Stroke Coordinator at Swedish Medical Center.
An ultrasound showed baby was doing okay and the stroke intervention team led by Dr. Richard Bellon set out to locate and remove the blockage. “We accessed the arterial system by a large vessel down by the hip and at that point we could identify the occlusion,” said Dr. Bellon. Using a long catheter, the team was able to remove the clot just seven minutes into the procedure.
Briena was transferred to Swedish’s specialized Neuro ICU, where after working with her care team, she was able to walk out and return home under her own power. Months later, she returned to Swedish to give birth to a healthy baby boy, Barrett. Mom and baby are doing well.
To learn more about the signs of stroke and the Swedish Neuro Network, visit our neurological care page or call (866) 779-3347.