- A woman noticed her face was drooping and her speech was slurred in a Zoom meeting with her congressman's office.
- The woman, a University of Nebraska Foundation employee, was having a stroke.
- She had a strong recovery thanks to spotting the signs early and getting to hospital within 25 minutes.
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Ann Tillery was familiar with the signs of a stroke: facial drooping, weakness in one arm, and slurred speech. She just didn't expect to see herself displaying those symptoms on Zoom during a meeting with her congressman's office.
Tillery, a University of Nebraska Foundation employee, was on a call with members of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's office in May, advocating for funding for the Alzheimer's Association, when she noticed something was off.
"The technology was working fine, but then, in just a split second, my world changed," she told the Lincoln Journal Star.
Tillery told the local newspaper that she saw the left side of her face begin to droop and felt her left arm grow heavy. No one else on the call noticed what was happening, but she recognized that she was likely having a stroke.
Then her speech became slurred, and when she tried to stand, she fell to the ground. Fortunately, she grabbed her phone in time to call 911.
"I knew I had a very limited time to act if I was going to have the best chance of recovery," Tillery said. "Luckily I did have my cellphone."
Getting to the hospital quickly is the best way to beat a stroke
Tillery got to the hospital in about 25 minutes. She spent several days in intensive care and another 11 days working with occupational, physical and speech therapists.
Her stroke was hemorrhagic, meaning a blood vessel ruptured in her brain and caused spontaneous bleeding.
Although she temporarily lost control of her left side following the stroke, Tillery was able to recover in time to attend a charity ball two and a half weeks later.
Dr. Quinn Willet, who works at the hospital where Tillery was treated, told the Journal Star that Tillery's strong recovery was possible because she quickly noticed what was happening and sought help.
"Time is tissue, and that means brain tissue," Willet, hospitalist for Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska, told the newspaper. "The sooner you get to us the sooner we can fix it, the sooner you can see specialists and start recovering."
Doctors use the acronym FAST to raise awareness of the signs of a stroke: face drooping, arm weakness, and slurred speech all mean it's time to call 911.