Healthy runner's stroke followed a bad bout of COVID-19

On a ride to high school one morning, 谢莉·马歇尔(Shelley Marshall)问女儿在曲棍球队的情况如何.

At least, that's what she intended to say. 她的女儿说:“妈妈，这是怎么回事?? Are you having a stroke or something? Look at me."

Marshall looked fine. 虽然言语不清是典型的中风症状，但她没有下垂的脸或手臂无力. In a clear voice, she told her daughter not to worry.

Marshall, though, was concerned.

Two days earlier, she noticed that she'd slurred her own name. Her blood pressure had recently been slightly elevated. 她还在从一场严重的COVID-19中康复，这是她的第三次. All of this was unusual for Marshall, then 47 and in excellent health, thanks in part to running nearly every day.

Marshall called her boyfriend, Lyle Sarver, 告诉他她在去哈里斯堡医院急诊室的路上, Pennsylvania, where they both worked in administration.

He met her there. By then, she felt totally fine.

A brain scan revealed otherwise.

颈部的颈动脉是大脑的主要血管. 马歇尔的一条腿有两处几乎完全被堵住了. She also had a carotid artery dissection, 哪个是颈动脉内壁的撕裂.

尽管有这些问题，马歇尔的症状仍然很轻微. Doctors wanted to gather more information via an angiogram, a scan that shows blood flow through vessels.

While waiting for it, the symptoms began to build.

Marshall garbled her speech more often. She noticed she could no longer say certain words, especially "perfectly," which she tried over and over.

她的头痛越来越严重，而且右侧有些麻痹.

By now, her daughter, Kennley McCown, was there. Marshall was in so much pain she feared she would die. 仅仅是对女儿说一句“我爱你”就耗尽了她所有的力量.

Sarver feared that Marshall might have lasting deficiencies.

The angiogram was done the next morning. 当天下午，马歇尔接受了清除颈动脉阻塞的手术. Doctors placed three stents to improve blood flow. The surgery was expected to last three hours; it took six because her problems turned out to be more complex.

药效一过，萨弗就问马歇尔是否知道他是谁，她在哪里.

"Lyle," she answered. "The hospital."

Kennley also tested her for several days.

"Say 'perfectly,' Mom," she'd ask.

Each time Marshall's pronunciation was perfect.

知道她避免了任何严重的认知缺陷，他们都感觉好多了. Since Marshall's stroke in March 2023, her memory is slightly fuzzier, but nothing significant, she said.

在她住院期间，医生确保她没有其他问题. They also sought a reason for her stroke. 由于缺乏其他原因，再加上COVID-19与心脏病发作和中风风险增加之间的联系，她的医生认为她的严重COVID-19病例可能是导致她中风的原因.

马歇尔请了两个月的假来疗伤，恢复体力. 她和肯利去了一次计划已久的佛罗里达海滩之旅, 但那是在她得到了医生的飞行许可，并调查了目的地的专家之后, just in case.

她说:“我感到非常幸运，但我仍然有点害怕，尤其是关于COVID。. "I do what I can to prevent it."

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.