“I’ve been given a second chance.”
- Vivian Shepherd

 

Catch up with Vivian Shepherd these days and you’ll discover a 76-year-old grandmother full of life - something that amazes friends, family and even her doctors.

 

It was just months ago that she was clinging to life, unable to speak, walk or talk. The victim of a major stroke, Mrs. Shepherd credits her granddaughters and Royal Columbian Hospital for her quick recovery.

 

Timing is everything
“When a stroke happens, that part of the brain is in flux. The only way it’s salvageable is if you restore the blood flow to the affected area in time,” says Dr. Shelia Savedia-Cayabyab. 

 

Immediately upon arrival at Royal Columbian, Mrs. Shepherd was given a CT scan to assess the damage.  The scan showed a blood clot in the middle cerebral artery.  Fortunately, she had arrived in time for Dr. William Siu to perform an interventional procedure called ‘intra-arterial thrombolysis’ to break up the clot.

 

“Each minute that ticks down is critical,” says Dr. Siu. “The Philips Allura Xper FD20 kept pace and delivered the life-critical information we needed in a repeatable and consistent fashion.”

 

Visualizing the details
“There’s no room for doubt,” notes Dr. Siu, “when you’re deep within the brain and feeding microcatheters a couple of millimeters in diameter through delicate and complicated vessels. We chose the new Allura system because of its exceptional image quality."

 

What’s interventional X-ray? Learn more about the technology behind 'open-surgery' alternatives.   + Interventional X-ray Exam guide

 

Cheryl Greenhalgh, RTR agrees, “The body is 3-dimensional. If you can rotate around it (as you can with the FD20), you have a better idea of what you’re looking at.  You can see more precisely where you’re located, which is key to ensuring if we’re in the right spot as we inject drugs into a particular vessel.”

 

Vivian Shepherd’s procedure was successful.  The clot was destroyed and she made a remarkable recovery.

 

Getting help quickly
“Mrs. Shepherd’s recovery is due in large part to how quickly we were able to intervene,” says Dr. Savedia-Cayabyab. “When she came in for post follow-up, I mistook her for another patient; she was unbelievably back to normal. Her only complaint was she didn’t write as well as she did before the stroke.”

 

Mrs. Shepherd’s granddaughters agree that getting help quickly made the difference, “If someone you love falls to the floor and can’t talk or move, try to stay calm, call 911 and then call a relative. That’s what we did and that’s what saved our grandma.”

 

"My writing is still not good,” says Mrs. Shepherd, “I have to write slowly to write properly.  Other than that, I’m back on track.”

 

- July 2007

 

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