Timely Response Leads to Good Outcome for Helton

IUKA, Mississippi—Kathy Helton has become “forever friends” with the ambulance crew who responded to her home in October 2023.

“That morning, I walked to the kitchen to fix coffee, and I felt funny,” Helton says. “I just went out. I couldn’t talk or think. I didn’t know anything after that, but apparently I fell, and my husband called an ambulance.”

Paramedic Regina Kennedy and EMT Brittany McKeel rushed Helton to North Mississippi Medical Center-Iuka. “I am so indebted to them because they were paying such close attention to my symptoms,”  Helton says. “They knew that I needed CareFlight to fly me to (North Mississippi Medical Center in) Tupelo right away. I feel like they saved my life.”

Doctors determined that multiple blood clots had traveled from Helton’s leg to her lungs, heart and brain, causing a stroke. Because of the crew’s quick action, Helton arrived in Tupelo in time to receive tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) to break up the clots.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Jason Stacy performed emergency surgery—a cerebral endovascular thrombectomy--to remove the blood clot from her brain and restore blood flow.

Once able, Helton transferred to NMMC’s Rehabilitation Institute for physical, occupational and speech therapy. Back home, she followed up with Outpatient Rehabilitation at NMMC-Iuka. She has now regained full range of movement and speech and, except for tiring more easily and a little difficulty with writing, Helton is back to her old self.

The magnitude of what happened isn’t lost on Helton, and she made sure to thank the two who got her to the right care in the nick of time. “I thoroughly love them,” she says.