Mark Shelnutt

Mark, a prominent attorney in Ocala, had just returned from a two-week vacation with his wife. He had a Monday morning mediation on his calendar and within 15 minutes of the mediation Mark began to slur his words and was unable to speak. Luckily, the location of the mediation was less than five minutes away from Ocala Hospital, Marion County’s only Comprehensive Stroke Center. Someone called 911, the stroke alert was activated at Ocala Hospital and EMS was quickly on the scene. Mark was rushed to Ocala Hospital and he said that when he arrived. “It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen, there were 10 or 11 people waiting there to care for me.” 

Ocala Hospital has a highly skilled stroke team 24/7, that is pre-alerted when emergency medical services are transporting a patient that is experiencing stroke-like symptoms. At the hospital, Mark received TPA (a clot-busting medication) within minutes of arrival. Mark spent three days in the hospital and then was discharged home. “I was scared to death, not being able to talk and function normally but the team at Ocala Hospital was amazing.” Mark said he feels extremely lucky to have been so close to a Comprehensive Stroke Center because he was able to receive the care that led to a favorable outcome. In the United States a stroke occurs every 40 seconds. When a stroke is occurring, 32,000 brain cells die every second, 1.9 million every minute. The sooner a patient presents for emergent stroke care, the more likely they are to have a functional outcome. Remember…TIME IS BRAIN! At 64-years-old, Mark says he is extremely fortunate, he is happy, healthy, and is very thankful to the team at Ocala Hospital for taking such amazing care of him.