Lori’s Stroke Required Help From Doctors An Hour Away. Telemedicine Provided It.

Editor’s note: Our previous stories this American Stroke Month featured warning signs heeded and missed. Today we shift gears to showcase a textbook response to a stroke, including the crucial role of telestroke, a way for experts at another facility to help care for a patient via a webcam-type connection. The CHRONIC Care Act, which includes a provision to require Medicare to cover telestroke, will be discussed Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee. Lori Hoopingarner savored her occasional weekend getaway. Between running her financial advising company, raising a 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, having another daughter in college, and being without her husband – Darren, a fire captain – for at least 72 hours in a row each week, she earned those mini-vacations. So, a few times a year, her dad and stepmom babysat while she and Darren made the 1½-hour drive east from their home in Temecula, California, to the Indian Wells-Palm Springs area. They would leave around lunchtime on a Friday and return home on Sunday afternoon, fully recharged. On July 31, 2015, Lori and Darren were in their kitchen going over final details before heading on another of these trips. Lori bit into a tomato and suddenly “saw a red blur go from one side of my vision to the other.” She walked around the bar and sat at the kitchen table, clearly bothered by something. “What’s the matter?” Darren said, thinking she might be suffering a migraine. Lori couldn’t ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news