Jillian Wirzman
“It Felt Like a Traffic Jam in My Head"
Jillian Wirzman, 51, was enjoying a typical day in late March when things quickly changed. Jillian, the Chief Nursing Officer for Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center, was at work preparing for a meeting. As she walked down the hall, she became extremely dizzy and then began to experience weakness on the right side of her body, as well as confusion.
“It felt like a traffic jam in my head,” Jillian said.
Colleagues nearby witnessed Jillian have difficulty and hurried to help. She was transported to Broward Health North and diagnosed with having suffered a stroke. Kiprianos S. Armenakis, M.D., an internal medicine physician, treated Jillian with Tissue Plasminogen activator (TPA) to assist with reversing the symptoms and resolve the stroke.
“TPA was administered to Mrs. Wirzman within three hours of her initial symptoms,” Armenakis said. “TPA is breaks up blood clots. Since there was early diagnosis and treatment of Mrs. Wirzman by myself and the team, Mrs. Wirzman didn't have any neurologic deficits and as a result did not require rehabilitation.”
“I was grateful to be in the right place at the right time to get the care I needed,” Jillian said.
Jillian returned to work within a week of her stroke and is currently managing her very busy behavioral health facility. “I feel great,” she said.
To learn more about Stroke Care at Broward Health, click below.