Thanks to Snapchat, a Nebraska woman has 12 minutes of medication to save the lives of her victims | trends

Stroke Day – July 31, 2017 – started as another. Ladd got up and went to work at the student placement office of Omaha Public Schools. Throughout the day, she began to feel dizzy, dizzy, and had a headache.

His arm began to shake so much that it was difficult to move the cursor on his computer screen. And while Ladd stood up to tell her supervisor that she was leaving for the day, she fell back into her chair.

Ladd, then 38 years old, went to the Immanuel Medical Center emergency room shortly after 1 pm. She was suffering from high blood pressure, but did not exhibit brain dysfunction nor typical symptoms of a stroke such as a drooping face, arm weakness or speech difficulties. . Doctors did a CT scan and found no signs of stroke.

At 6:30 pm, the pain of her headache was gone and her blood pressure was back to normal. If the symptoms returned or worsened, the doctors told Ladd to return to the emergency room.

Ladd's mother brought her home and entrusted the reign to Ladd's sisters.

Ladd did not want to be alone.

His sister Sherita White, a nurse, had just left work. She noticed that Ladd still had an intravenous port in his arm. She opened her Snapchat app and recorded a video of her removal from the port.

The sisters followed the show "Insecure" from the HBO channel. Later, Ladd was dozing.

"Suddenly, she woke up and something did not seem right," White said. "Her eyes were rolled back, and she did not want to talk … I could tell she was not breathing well."

Ladd's family brought her back to the Immanuel Medical Center's emergency room shortly after 10 pm. In the hospital, the left side of Ladd was completely weak.

While the doctors performed tests and examined the exams, Ladd was aware of what was going on around her but was unable to communicate or open her eyes.

"It was scary," she says. "I could not say anything."

At 11 pm, the doctors had confirmed the stroke and called for a neurologist.

It was at that point that they had to go into detective mode, said Dr. Vishal Jani, a neurologist who treated Ladd. The medication that Ladd needed was to be given within four and a half hours of the onset of symptoms.

Because the doctors did not know exactly when the symptoms of Ladd had begun, they had to assume that these had started as soon as she had "left the hospital". This could mean that it was too late to administer the drug safely.

"We can potentially save her life or kill her," Jani said.

It was at this point that White remembered the Snapchat that she had taken from her sister earlier in the evening. It showed that Ladd was talking and moving normally. And the timestamp meant that they could move on.

Jani gave the drug to Ladd with about 12 minutes to spare.

The drug helped dissolve the blood clot by blocking blood flow to the brain. It saved his life.

There were still difficulties ahead. During her visit to the emergency room, Ladd had difficulty breathing and was intubated. Later in the night, part of his skull had to be removed due to swelling of the brain. She remained under ventilation for about two weeks.

Ladd, a mother of three, has been found at Madonna Rehabilitation in Omaha. She followed physical, speech therapy, professional and aquatic therapies. She had to relearn how to swallow and chew.

Ladd was frustrated during his rehab, but never gave up. She had the support of her colleagues from the OPS and her family.

"Every day, I looked up when I was in therapy and one of my sisters or cousins ​​was there to cheer me on," she says with tears in her eyes.

Now, 40-year-old Ladd is receiving outpatient treatment. Her language has improved and she can walk with the help of a cane. She could not return to work, but she hopes to do it later.

"I feel good," said Ladd. "I feel very motivated to return to 100%."

And in case you're wondering, the sisters are still on Snapchat, as is the Ladd neurologist.