In the spring of 2024, 20-year-old Mitchell Coolbaugh–a fun loving Purdue University student– was spending spring break back home in Indianapolis, hanging out with his roommate and best friend, Adriel Jose.
They were working on a class project when Adriel noticed that Mitchell’s words weren’t making sense. Moments later, he noticed Mitchell’s speech began to slur and his arm started to droop.
“I noticed that his lip jerked upward and it stayed like that,” said Adriel. “My mom was there and I told her, ‘I think he is having a stroke.’”
Adriel had learned the signs of a stroke back in high school. Fortunately for Mitchell, a fast 911 call and quick response by EMTs got him to the Emergency Department at Ascension St. Vincent’s Indianapolis hospital campus shortly after.
May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and Ascension St. Vincent encourages everyone to learn the warning signs of a stroke–easily remembered as the acronym FAST: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911.
“Strokes can affect individuals at any age, which is an important take-home message here,” said Dr. Daniel Sahlein, Director of the Stroke Center at ASV Indianapolis. “Another one is that the single most important thing in the entire scope of treatment is time–getting patients to the right facility as soon as possible.
“That is the extraordinary thing that Adriel did for his friend here. He recognized the signs of a stroke and he got help immediately. By the time we had Mitch at Ascension St. Vincent, the stroke had done little damage to the brain.”
Emergency procedures were immediately initiated to remove the blood clot causing Mitchell’s stroke. A mechanical thrombectomy—a specialized procedure used to locate and extract blood clots—was performed, ultimately saving his life.
Fortunately for Mitchell, he was in the right place at the right time, in the expert hands of the medical team at Ascension St. Vincent. The hospital holds the highest level of stroke accreditation and has earned the Gold Plus Elite Certification from the American Heart Association every year for the past five years—making it the only hospital in Indiana to do so.
Today, both Mitchell and Adriel are back at Purdue, grateful that Adriel recognized the signs and acted “FAST.” They recently shared their story on Fox 59 news, along with Dr. Sahlein.
