When a colleague had a stroke at work, they jumped into action
The day, Jan. 23, 2023, started like any other day on the third-floor cardiac unit at Medical Center of the Rockies. Mariah Sloan, a dedicated nursing assistant, was attending to her duties when she experienced the unexpected.
Mariah had only been working at UCHealth for a few months, and she was grateful to be hired by John Gerstenberger, a charge nurse, to be part of the team on the cardiac unit. That day, Rose Simmons and Savannah Krenning, both registered nurses, and Ashley Servin, a medical assistant, rounded out the team.
That morning, Mariah had just taken a patient’s vitals and left the patient’s room when she noticed a “disconnection” in her left hand as she entered her password into a computer in the hallway. Her fingers were slowly moving but not forcefully pushing on the keys. Then, she started to fall to her left and reached for a chair. At the age of 24, she was having a stroke.
University of Northern Colorado nursing students Gracy Babbitt and Isabelle Bulahan-Shook were also near the computer. Alarmed, one of the students stayed with Mariah while the other ran to get Gerstenberger.
Before Mariah knew it, Gerstenberger, Simmons, Krenning and Servin were helping her to the floor. Gerstenberger asked her to lift her left leg. Nothing. Simmons then told her to smile. The team quickly recognized the signs of a stroke, called a stroke alert and rushed Mariah to a CT scanner.
She had an acute ischemic stroke caused by a blood clot in her M1 artery – a rare occurrence for someone so young and healthy. Since LifeLine was grounded because of adverse weather, an ambulance crew rushed Mariah to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital for a thrombectomy to remove the clot.
The surgery was successful. Though she faced physical and emotional challenges during recovery, she returned to work only three weeks later. She said she has found strength in the support of her colleagues, who have rallied around her with care and encouragement.
“It’s wild to think I had only been working there two months. … I have this amazing team. They rushed in, recognizing I needed help.”
Mariah credits her team’s quick actions with saving her quality of life. Months after the stroke, she has minimal deficits.
Only 70 days after the stroke, she got married. Recently, she learned she will soon be a mom.
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