The Brief
- Tampa General Hospital is hailing advancements in stroke recovery that are allowing patients to use body parts that have been dormant for decades.
- The FDA-approved Vivistim device is implanted in a patient’s chest and sends stimuli to the vagus nerve that allows for limbs and other body parts to move again.
- The biggest challenge in treating strokes is getting patients and their families to seek medical attention immediately after symptoms appear.
TAMPA, Fla. – Christian Daigle, a Clearwater native, remembers when his life changed.
Early stroke diagnosis
The backstory:
“I was bouncing on a trampoline,” Daigle said. “I instantly felt my right side freeze up like this, and then I fell over.”
Daigle, just seven years old at the time, was having a stroke.
But day by day and then year by year, Daigle got by.…