The incident occurred at the end of December. Mr Dariusz, a 52-year-old resident of Bolesławiec County, collapsed by his car. His wife immediately called the emergency number.
As it turned out, our fellow resident had suffered a serious stroke. As Agata Rojek, a neurology specialist at St Luke’s Hospital in Bolesławiec, explains, the patient was conscious but it was impossible to establish contact with him. He had profound speech disturbances, and both right limbs were paralysed.
It is worth emphasising that Mr Dariusz had never suffered from any serious illness. He did not take any regular medication.
The man is now recovering, and after nine days he had almost completely recovered. (He still has slight speech disturbances.) But if he had reached the hospital later, the outcome would probably have been much worse: he would have required constant care. He would not have been able to speak, walk or work. Meanwhile, the 52-year-old patient is already stressing that he wants to return to work.
This is a success not only for the staff of the Bolesławiec hospital and Mr Dariusz’s wife, who reacted immediately. Emergency medical rescuers from the Polish Medical Air Rescue also joined the operation, transporting the patient by helicopter to the Neurology Clinic in Wrocław, where he was taken straight to the procedure room. Thanks to cooperation with the Polish Medical Air Rescue, the patient may have gained as much as an hour—and in this case, as we have already mentioned, time was of the essence.
The Stroke Prevention and Treatment Centre, which opened at St Luke’s Hospital in Bolesławiec in April last year, offers patients, including those from Bolesławiec County, an enormous chance to return to normal life after a stroke. Unfortunately, demand for the centre’s services is enormous. Since it began operating, the telephone has rung as many as 360 times.
It is worth repeating, however: speed of response is extremely important. Do not delay!