Sara’s Story: Sudden Bad Headache Signals Stroke
Sara Peterangelo started her day feeling good, ready for work. Then, a bad headache came on, worse than the migraines she’d had before. Her mother, Melissa Peterangelo, advised her to take one of her prescribed migraine pills. It didn’t seem to help, so she called off work.
Melissa was about to leave for her own job as a Premier Health advanced practice nurse, when she returned home to find Sara crying. She decided to drive her to Miami Valley Hospital to see her neurologist. On the way, Sara began vomiting, so Melissa stopped at the Miami Valley Hospital Beavercreek Emergency Center for help.
There, Sara was examined, scanned, and had lost consciousness. Soon after, CareFlight transported Sara to Miami Valley Hospital.
A neurosurgeon and vascular neurologist were ready to work together to relieve pressure on Sara’s brain from a burst blood vessel and to stop the bleeding, which was caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). AVMs can result in a weakened blood vessel and cause a stroke, as happened with Sara.
Bryan Ludwig, MD, a Premier Health vascular neurologist, coordinated Sara’s care with a vascular neurosurgeon at UC Health. Following the successful surgery to remove the AVM, Sara received follow-up care, including speech therapy, at Premier Health. And now, she wants to become a nurse, inspired by her mother and the Premier Health nurses who cared for her.
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