{"id":89158,"date":"2026-03-17T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=89158"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:01:07","slug":"colorado-springs-stroke-care-mobile-unit-saves-local-business-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/colorado-springs-stroke-care-mobile-unit-saves-local-business-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"When every second matters, specially trained stroke experts arrive on the scene to deliver immediate, life-saving care"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Mike
Mike Bukowski, right, suffered a stroke at his Colorado Springs business last summer. Medical experts with the UCHealth Colorado Springs Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit arrived within minutes and treated Mike at the scene. He recovered fully and this winter, Mike was back to cheering on his beloved Colorado College hockey team. With Mike (from right to left) are his wife, Marian, their son, Michael Jr., their daughter, Mia, and her fianc\u00e9, Camden Raedel. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a little after 4:30\u00a0p.m.\u00a0last July\u00a0on a typical day\u00a0at\u00a0Olson Plumbing & Heating<\/span><\/a> in Colorado Springs. Mike Bukowski\u00a0sat\u00a0at the desk in his office, wrapping up a quick conversation with the chief financial officer of the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

As she walked out of his office, a strange sensation started to come over\u00a0Mike. Just a few seconds later, another colleague walked in.\u00a0Typically, she\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0still\u00a0at work\u00a0at\u00a0this\u00a0hour, but she had a payroll question for Mike. She noticed that his face looked distorted and strange.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you OK?\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0asked Mike.<\/p>\n

He knew something was wrong, but he\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0speak.<\/p>\n

His colleague yelled down the hall for help. Another coworker ran to\u00a0Mike\u2019s\u00a0office\u00a0while\u00a0the\u00a0finance officer\u00a0called 911.<\/p>\n

If not for that chance encounter in Mike\u2019s office that afternoon, things\u00a0almost certainly\u00a0would have turned out differently.\u00a0Instead,\u00a0the\u00a0smart observations and quick actions\u00a0from Mike\u2019s coworkers\u00a0kicked off a series of\u00a0perfectly timed\u00a0interventions. It turned out that Mike was having\u00a0a\u00a0stroke<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Highly trained nurses, paramedics, EMTs and CT technologists who work in a special ambulance called the Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit, arrived within 30 minutes at Mike\u2019s office and started caring for him immediately. After they gave him a clot-busting drug while still parked at his business, the team whisked him to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0which is\u00a0designated\u00a0as a\u00a0Comprehensive Stroke Center\u00a0where patients receive the\u00a0highest level of stroke care.\u00a0Mike not only survived\u00a0but\u00a0also recovered fully.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s back at work these days as executive vice president at the 109-year-old Colorado Springs company. Mike is part of the fourth generation of his family to run the business. And along with work, he\u2019s once again doing the things he loves with his family, including cheering on the Colorado College men\u2019s hockey team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky to be here,\u201d Mike said. \u201cThe stars lined up, and God is good.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0a very, very fortunate\u00a0man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"After
After Mike’s stroke, he temporarily lost the ability to speak. While still in the hospital recovering, he wrote notes to his wife and children. “I’m going to be 100 percent. Don’t worry,” he said in one. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lifetime of fitness, and then the unimaginable \u2014 a stroke \u2014 happens to local businessman\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Olson Plumbing & Heating is among a handful of century-old businesses in Colorado Springs, and its vans are a common sight at large construction sites and local homes, responding to round-the-clock plumbing and heating calls. Work kept him busy, Mike said, and he is accustomed to the pressures of running a large business. Still, by early summer 2025, he felt run down. In addition to his usual financial duties, he was reworking the company\u2019s profit-sharing plan, and the project turned out to be more complicated and time-consuming than he expected. He wasn\u2019t sleeping well, a problem he chalked up to stress over the project.<\/p>\n

Mike\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0consider that he might have a serious health issue. He knew\u00a0some\u00a0family members\u00a0were dealing with\u00a0heart\u00a0arrhythmia<\/a>, meaning your heart can beat too fast,\u00a0too\u00a0slow\u00a0or irregularly. An irregular\u00a0heartbeat\u00a0can increase a person\u2019s risk of having\u00a0a stroke. But\u00a0Mike\u00a0had no obvious signs of the condition. He took pride in staying healthy, keeping up with routine screenings like colonoscopies\u00a0and working out daily in his home gym. His blood pressure was good, and at age 62, he felt fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done everything in my power to keep healthy,\u201d he said. \u201cHeart trouble never ever even crossed my mind. It came out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as\u00a0Mike\u00a0sat at his desk that\u00a0day, he knew\u00a0he\u00a0faced\u00a0a serious problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething just didn\u2019t feel right,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I couldn\u2019t move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike always has made health a priority. He worked out daily and kept up with regular screenings, but he had no idea that he had an irregular heart rhythm that put him at higher risk for a stroke. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Signs of a stroke: ‘Something bad is happening.’<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When his colleague asked if he was OK, Mike couldn’t answer. He also couldn\u2019t move his right leg or his right arm. He started to slump over in his chair. He grabbed his right leg with his left hand to keep from sliding out of his desk chair. He worried that he might fall and hit his head on the desk. He tried to steady the cup of coffee he was holding, but it spilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is going on with me?\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0thought. \u201cSomething bad is happening, but I don\u2019t know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s colleagues rushed toward him. One of them, who is also his cousin, helped keep him upright by holding onto his shirt collar. After calling 911, Mike\u2019s coworkers also called his wife, Marian and told her they thought Mike was having a stroke.<\/p>\n

It was July 15, 2025. Mike calls it \u201cthe day that will live in infamy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marian\u00a0immediately\u00a0tried to reach their son, Michael Bukowski,\u00a0Jr. He owns\u00a0Pikes Peak Forestry and Construction<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and was working just up the street. He is a trained EMT and a volunteer firefighter with a rural department west of Colorado Springs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI called him, and he didn’t answer, and I called again, and he didn’t answer,\u201d Marian said.<\/p>\n

Michael was underneath a truck holding a welding torch. When his mom\u00a0called\u00a0a third time, he\u00a0picked\u00a0up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael, you need to get to your dad,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

\"Now
Now that he has recovered fully from his stroke, Mike relishes spending time with his family. From left, Michael Jr., Mike, Marian, Mia and Camden Raedel at the Colorado College Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next, Marian called their daughter, Mia, who also headed\u00a0straight\u00a0to the business.<\/p>\n

Michael thought he had heard his mom say that his dad was having a heart attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo,\u00a0I had my AED (automated external defibrillator),\u00a0and I was ready to start my cardiac arrest protocol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He arrived at\u00a0his dad\u2019s office\u00a0within minutes and saw\u00a0that his dad was conscious.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was sitting right there, but he was kind of slumped to the right,\u201d Michael said. \u201cHe couldn’t speak, and he couldn’t move any of the right side of his body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael\u2019s training as an EMT kicked in, and he started taking stock of his father\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis pupils were reactive.\u00a0And then I took his blood pressure, and at that time, he was pretty normal.\u00a0His pulse was pretty normal.\u00a0So,\u00a0I was\u00a0like, this is good.\u00a0It’s\u00a0bad, but\u00a0it’s\u00a0good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael quickly realized that his father was having a\u00a0stroke.\u00a0When a stroke starts, quick treatment is critical. There are two types of strokes. Hemorrhagic strokes happen from a brain bleed. Ischemic strokes, the most common, occur when a clot in the brain cuts off vital blood flow and oxygen.<\/p>\n

Getting medical treatment right away\u00a0is critical because every minute after a stroke begins\u00a0results in\u00a0the loss of crucial brain function or even death.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why Mike lost control of his right side and\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lose millions of brain cells every minute when you\u2019re having a stroke,\u201d said Ashleigh Wright,\u00a0charge\u00a0nurse\u00a0of\u00a0the mobile stroke unit in Colorado Springs. \u201cYou have the best outcomes if you can get treatment within 60 minutes.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0called the \u2018golden hour.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The mobile stroke unit,\u00a0one of only two in Colorado,\u00a0provides care for patients where they are, inside the specially equipped unit. Wright warns patients and bystanders not to be alarmed when the unit\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0speed off to the hospital after loading the patient inside. The point\u00a0of the mobile unit\u00a0is to provide on-the-spot treatment as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

\"The
The UCHealth Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit team provides on-the-spot care to patients wherever they are in the Colorado Springs area, then transports them to UCHealth Memorial Central Hospital, which is a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Photo by Mark Reis, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Mike, that meant\u00a0in the parking lot of his business.\u00a0The mobile stroke unit team has treated\u00a0other\u00a0patients in department store parking lots,\u00a0fast-food restaurants, patients\u2019\u00a0homes and at schools\u00a0and airports.<\/p>\n

Colorado Springs firefighters and an ambulance arrived\u00a0at\u00a0Mike\u2019s office\u00a0a little before 5 p.m.\u00a0One of them asked Marian if she had a preference about where they took her husband.\u00a0She told\u00a0them\u00a0Memorial Hospital<\/a>. UCHealth doctors had treated her for breast cancer a few years earlier, and she knew Memorial Hospital is a Level I trauma center. She was confident they could treat whatever was happening with her husband.<\/p>\n

Next,\u00a0at 5 p.m.,\u00a0the mobile stroke unit\u00a0team rolled up.\u00a0UCHealth leaders station the\u00a0team\u00a0at\u00a0an\u00a0administrative\u00a0center in central Colorado Springs, which was just six miles from Mike\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

Wright and her team quickly\u00a0put Mike on a gurney in the mobile stroke unit and\u00a0began their assessment, checking how well Mike could move, whether he could talk, how alert he was. They also figured out when Mike\u2019s stroke symptoms started.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0critical for\u00a0determining\u00a0whether someone is\u00a0a good candidate\u00a0for drugs that can start to dissolve the clot. Patients need to receive the drug that the stroke unit team carries on board, called\u00a0tenecteplase, or TNK,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0within\u00a04\u00a01\/2\u00a0hours of the onset of symptoms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wright and the team knew Mike\u2019s chief financial officer had seen him around 4:30 p.m., and he seemed fine. Then, just seconds later, the other coworker had asked him, \u201care you OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike\u00a0fell\u00a0within\u00a0that window.<\/p>\n

In fact, just 30 minutes had elapsed since the start of his stroke.<\/p>\n

CT scan inside mobile stroke unit speeds diagnosis and treatment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The mobile stroke unit looks like an ambulance on the outside. On the inside,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0complete\u00a0stroke treatment unit on wheels. A team of experts can\u00a0immediately\u00a0provide vital care to stroke patients\u00a0wherever\u00a0they are. The unit\u00a0features\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0equipment, including a CT imaging unit and\u00a0a\u00a0virtual health system that allows the team to communicate with an on-call UCHealth neurologist\u00a0who can diagnose and recommend treatment before the unit leaves for the hospital. The unit also carries\u00a0the TNK\u00a0on board.<\/p>\n

\"A
A few months after his stroke, Mike met team members from the mobile stroke unit who helped save his life. Within minutes of suffering a stroke at his business, Mike was receiving help from experts who consulted with a neurologist then gave him a clot-busting medication at the scene. They then rushed him to the hospital, where Mike received more care. \u201cYou lose millions of brain cells every minute when you\u2019re having a stroke,\u201d said Ashleigh Wright, right, charge nurse for the mobile stroke unit in Colorado Springs. \u201cYou have the best outcomes if you can get treatment within 60 minutes.” Photo by Joanna Bean, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The team took a CT scan of Mike\u2019s brain and sent it through the computer network to an on-call UCHealth neurologist.<\/p>\n

At 5:26 p.m.,\u00a0Dr. William Jones<\/span><\/a>, a neurologist with the\u00a0<\/span>UCHealth Stroke and Brain Aneurysm Center<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Colorado Hospital<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0<\/span>Anschutz Campus<\/span><\/a>, reviewed Mike\u2019s scans. Jones, who is also an\u00a0<\/span>associate professor of neurology<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0determined\u00a0that Mike was having an ischemic stroke and ordered treatment with TNK.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two minutes later, at 5:28 p.m., the team started giving Mike the drug through an IV.\u00a0Less\u00a0than an hour\u00a0had passed since the stroke\u00a0started.<\/p>\n

Mobile stroke unit saves an average of 36 minutes in treatment<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit at Memorial Hospital is one of two in Colorado. The other is based at\u00a0University\u00a0of Colorado Hospital<\/a>. They are the only special stroke units\u00a0in the Rocky Mountain region, and there are only a handful\u00a0of other mobile stroke units\u00a0elsewhere\u00a0in the\u00a0U.S.<\/p>\n

UCHealth\u00a0leaders launched the first unit in 2016\u00a0as part of a national study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0evaluating whether stroke patients who get treated quickly with a clot-busting drug do better than those who travel by ambulance to the nearest\u00a0ER. The results were striking. Patients who\u00a0get\u00a0treatments\u00a0in a mobile stroke unit were\u00a0nearly\u00a0two-and-a-half\u00a0times\u00a0more likely\u00a0to have better outcomes. They had either no symptoms after the stroke, including difficulties talking or moving, or no significant disabilities despite symptoms. Mobile stroke unit\u00a0teams cut\u00a0an average of 36 minutes in getting\u00a0patients\u00a0the treatment they need to start\u00a0opening up\u00a0blood vessels in the brain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Importantly, the teams on mobile stroke units (as well as\u00a0ambulances) deliver patients to\u00a0appropriate hospital\u00a0stroke units, not free-standing\u00a0emergency\u00a0departments\u00a0or urgent care clinics. Those facilities are not equipped to treat patients having a stroke.<\/p>\n

For eight years, Colorado Springs and\u00a0University of Colorado Hospital shared\u00a0one unit, alternating weeks between the two cities. Then, in February 2024, Colorado Springs got its own full-time\u00a0mobile stroke unit<\/span><\/a>, thanks\u00a0in large part to donors who contributed more than $750,000\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Memorial Hospital Foundation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to pay for the unit.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2025, the Colorado Springs unit responded to 1,095 calls and transported 147 patients to the hospital. In January 2026, calls for service\u00a0rose\u00a022 percent over January 2025, and the number of patients transported\u00a0rose\u00a036 percent, Wright said.<\/p>\n

She attributes the increase,\u00a0in part,\u00a0to\u00a0a new arrangement\u00a0with the Falcon Fire Department\u00a0to help stroke patients in\u00a0the\u00a0fast-growing rural area east of Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

\"After
After recovering fully from his stroke, Mike is back at work and back to cheering for his hometown hockey team, the Colorado College Tigers. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Neurosurgeon removes clot from Mike\u2019s brain with a procedure called thrombectomy<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Within minutes of giving Mike the TNK, the\u00a0mobile stroke\u00a0team\u00a0headed to Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n

Mike remembers everything about that day \u2013 losing feeling on his right side, getting help from his colleagues, and even the ride to the hospital. He spotted familiar landmarks through small windows as he lay on the gurney. The TNK was working fast. Within just a few minutes, he started to feel his right side again.<\/p>\n

Mike\u00a0suffered\u00a0a large-vessel occlusion, or LVO, stroke. These strokes\u00a0happen when a\u00a0clot\u00a0blocks a\u00a0major blood vessel\u00a0before it\u00a0branches into smaller arteries. LVO strokes account for about 30-40%\u00a0of ischemic strokes\u00a0and have the most serious and life-altering symptoms. While intravenous clot-busting medication may open smaller arteries and occasionally larger arteries, the so-called gold standard treatment for these strokes is a procedure called a thrombectomy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At 5:48 p.m., less than 90 minutes after Mike\u2019s stroke started, the unit arrived at the Memorial Hospital emergency department, where\u00a0Dr. Ricky Medel<\/span><\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0all set\u00a0to help. He talked with Mike and Marian about the procedure Mike would undergo in the hospital\u2019s catheterization lab.<\/span><\/p>\n

Medel is a neurosurgeon. His job was to remove the blood clot from Mike\u2019s brain by guiding a catheter through a femoral artery in his leg to the blockage in his brain. Medel then activated a tiny device to grasp and pull out the clot.<\/p>\n

Medel successfully removed the clot and finished the procedure within an hour after Mike arrived at the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a good result,\u201d Medel said.<\/p>\n

Marian recalled Medel checking in with her after the procedure, telling her that he was able to remove the clot from Mike\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s going to be fine,\u2019\u201d Marian recalled.<\/p>\n

Medel responded with a sobering statistic. He told her that only 25% of stroke patients recover fully if they suffer\u00a0damage during a\u00a0stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI parked the information in the back of my mind,\u201d\u00a0Marian\u00a0said, describing herself as a person of faith. \u201cI knew he was going to be one of the ones who comes back.”<\/p>\n

\"Marian
Marian said she never doubted that her husband would make a full recovery from his stroke. She praised the Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit team for making that possible. \u201cWe\u2019re just so thankful that we have something like this in Colorado Springs,\u201d Marian said. \u201cHis outcome could have been completely different.\u201d Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Singing a familiar tune can help speech return after a stroke<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Mike went to the Intensive Care Unit after the procedure.\u00a0Dr. Janice Miller<\/span><\/a>, a Memorial Hospital neurologist who oversees the stroke program and cared for Mike, described his stroke as \u201csignificant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, Mike started getting feeling back in his arms and legs, and he could walk a few steps the next day.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0yet talk, so he wrote notes to his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be 100 percent,\u201d he wrote. \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day after his thrombectomy, Miller tried talking with Mike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe words were there. They just\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0come up,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike and his family’s plumbing and heating company in Colorado Springs have been supporters of the Colorado College Tigers hockey team since the 1940s. After learning of his stroke, CC leaders had a hockey jersey made for Mike with his name on the back. Photo by Anslee Wolfe, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then,\u00a0Miller\u00a0suggested he sing \u201cHappy Birthday.\u201d Doctors sometimes encourage stroke patients who\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0yet talk to try singing because it uses a different part of the brain and can eventually lead to speaking.<\/p>\n

The words to the familiar ditty came easily for Mike.<\/p>\n

His next word was \u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, as his ability to talk slowly returned,\u00a0Mike\u00a0told his family\u00a0members that\u00a0he wanted to plan a trip to Disney World, a place they love.<\/p>\n

Mia took videos and photos of her dad\u00a0nearly every\u00a0day as his recovery progressed. In fact, she started snapping pictures on her phone when the Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit rolled into the parking lot at\u00a0work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always has so many questions, and he loves pictures,\u201d Mia said. \u201cI told my mom when we were standing outside with the stroke unit, and I was taking pictures, \u2018He\u2019s going to want to see these.\u2019 Then, a couple of weeks later, he asked, \u2018Did anyone take any pictures?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Recognizing stroke symptoms is crucial<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

While\u00a0Mike\u00a0was in the Intensive Care Unit, Miller\u00a0determined\u00a0that\u00a0he\u00a0did have a heart arrhythmia\u00a0that\u00a0likely contributed\u00a0to his stroke. Mike had both kinds of abnormal\u00a0heart\u00a0rhythms\u00a0\u2013 atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.\u00a0\u00a0Abnormal heart rhythms can cause blood clots to form in the heart,\u00a0which can\u00a0then travel to the brain and cause a stroke. Other risk factors for stroke include smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, blood clotting disorders, poor\u00a0diet\u00a0and lack of exercise.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Know the signs of a stroke<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Two million neurons die every minute when a clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Strokes are the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, and the main cause of permanent disability.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s so crucial for family members, coworkers or even strangers to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.<\/p>\n