Stroke survivor thanks all involved for fast response, critical care

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Three months ago Jon Beckenhauer had a stroke. He had all the major symptoms, he couldn’t speak and his arms and legs were paralyzed. Less than 48 hours later, he was out of the hospital.

Friday, he took time to thank first responders, his healthcare team, and his wife after he made a full recovery.

Back in August his wife, Ann Beckenhauer went to run a quick errand, and when she returned she found Jon passed out on the floor.

“My first thought was I gotta get him to the hospital,” Ann said.

“I had no idea I even had the symptoms of a stroke,” Jon said.

But Ann did. She saw the right side of his face was drooping, his right side was paralyzed and he couldn’t focus his vision or speak, and immediately called 9-1-1.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue responded and because Ann could tell the paramedics Jon’s health history and medications, it sped up the process for them and the hospital.

Jon’s stroke was caused by a blood clot and just 15 minutes after arriving at CHI Health St. Elizabeth, he was given a clot reversal drug in record time.

“The goal, I guess you should say, is 60 minutes. That’s kind of the standard,” said Hanne Belvin, the stroke program coordinator for CHI. “You should be able to do it within an hour of patients coming in. It’s our goal at our hospital to be able to do it in under 30 minutes whenever possible.”

Within hours of receiving the medication, Jon was showing signs of progress and things got better from there.

“The next morning, when I came back on shift I went to see him in the hospital,” Belvin said. “And he was sitting up in the chair, talking, able to shake my hand with the right arm that had been paralyzed and feeding himself.”

It’s a rare outcome for that severe of a stroke and he was only in the hospital for about 36 hours.

To say thank you, Jon, Ann, his nurses, and doctors gave LFR’s Medic 7 team a ‘Unity in Uniform’ award for their work that day.

“It’s a dance between all of the agencies that respond to these types of patients,” said Nancy Crist with LFR.

“It’s just extreme gratitude for the whole team,” Jon said.

The big message from everybody involved is to call 9-1-1 right away if you suspect someone is suffering from a stroke. They said even just a few minutes can make all the difference.

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