Young Stroke Survivor Triumphs Through Multidisciplinary Care
Joe Slota, stroke survivor, with Dr. Kyle Chapple, endovascular neurosurgeon at Atlantic Brain and Spine. Together, they overcame a life-threatening AVM rupture through advanced neurosurgical care.
Nearly 800,000 Americans each year suffer a stroke, an acute condition that can prove devastating for many, and fatal for one in six victims.
Thanks to the unparalleled expertise at Atlantic Health System’s Overlook Medical Center and Atlantic Brain and Spine, then 26-year-old Joe Slota outcome was one of hope, success, and triumph over a condition that could have debilitated him.
Four days shy of his 27th birthday, the Morristown resident “experienced a cramping above my eyes like I’d never felt before.” After being rushed to the emergency room at Morristown Medical Center, Slota said, “I woke up disoriented, with half of my vision lost in both eyes and no movement or sensation on my left side.”
“The process of high-flow arteries connecting to low-flow veins can form weakened vessels and aneurysms that can rupture, bleed into the brain, and result in catastrophe,” shared Kyle Chapple, MD, an endovascular neurosurgeon at Atlantic Brian and Spine.
Trained in treating the delicate nuances of AVMs, Dr. Chapple and his team worked quickly to stabilize Slota, embolize — seal off — the AVM to stop the arterial flow, and perform a craniotomy, removing part of the skull to decompress his brain and prevent more bleeding. Slota would ultimately undergo a total of six complicated and carefully planned surgeries over that year.
Highly-Trained Experts
Initially warned that he might not walk, work, drive, or play sports again, Slota, now 34 and an IT Project Manager for a professional services firm, has defied the odds and is proud and humbled to tell his story. Strengthened by the love of his family and friends throughout his ordeal and the belief that “anything is possible if you want it badly enough,” Slota recently co-authored a book on his experience, “Can’t? Just Did!” with his sister Erica, and hopes his story can inspire others to work hard and remain hopeful.
“Joe had a positive outlook and he and his family were a great team,” Dr. Chapple said. “Our medical professionals are also a great team. Our highly trained experts at Overlook Medical Center are doing high-powered neurosurgery – procedures which the community may have perceived were only possible by specialists in New York City, Philadelphia, or Boston – right here in New Jersey.”
“I didn’t have time to choose my doctors that day but was so lucky to get them,” confirmed Slota. “Dr. Chapple and his team were incredibly honest, respectful, and professional, elicited such confidence and trust, and truly saved my life. For neurological surgery,” Slota concluded, “I wouldn’t go anywhere else in the world but Overlook.”
