Sixty-three year old Jerry Dowd was doing some routine engineering work at his job with WBT radio last month when he suddenly had the worst headache of his life. Familiar with symptoms of stroke, Dowd snapped a selfie just for confirmation and saw that the left side of his face was drooping. He texted his wife and immediately went to the emergency room.
Dowd is grateful to the neurology and emergency medicine team at Novant Heath Matthews Medical Center and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center for their quick assessment and treatment of his condition. A few weeks after his stroke, Dowd is already back at work and he is well aware the situation could have turned out very differently.
Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death in the United States. Nearly 800,000 people a year suffer a new or recurrent stroke. Early treatment at a hospital following a stroke is critical in order to prevent permanent injury to the brain.
