Following dinner one January evening, Joseph and Joan Campbell settled into their customary spots to watch the news. As Joseph reached for a glass of water and chatted with Joan, she noticed that his words were slurred. Then she realized he was slumping toward his left side. Alarmed, Joan called 911.

“I described his symptoms and the 911 operator felt it was a stroke,” relays Joan. “He asked me if I could lower him carefully to the floor, which I did, and then the ambulance arrived.”

Minutes later, Joseph was receiving care in the Emergency Department at Doylestown Hospital. There was a lot of “hubbub,” Joan recalls, and in the midst of it all came a question that would make all the difference in Joseph’s recovery: Would he agree to tPA?

Tissue plasminogen activator – tPA – is a clot-busting agent that can reduce the effects of stroke and increase the chances of recovering with little or no disability. It must, however, be administered within three hours of the onset of a stroke and it can cause bleeding, so patients have to be carefully evaluated before it is used.

“We were offered tPA to help reverse the symptoms,” Joan says, “As one of the doctors said, ‘it’s a no-brainer.’”

Joseph was hospitalized briefly until his blood pressure stabilized. Testing after the stroke revealed a partially blocked carotid artery, which was surgically corrected with a carotid endarterectomy six weeks after the stroke and followed with minor rehabilitation. Today he’s active and healthy again, crediting Joan for her quick action that winter night.

“She’s my angel,” Joseph says.