Stroke survivor reunites with team that saved his life

ORLANDO, Fla. — For Glenn Ruperto, the day started like any other.

A 58-year-old who enjoys exercise, Ruperto was in the middle of a workout. Then, without warning, his words began to come out jumbled.

When he and his wife realized something was wrong, they went straight to the emergency department at AdventHealth East Orlando, where the team quickly recognized the signs of a stroke.

"The entire team moved with one purpose: Get him the right treatment as fast as possible."

“The team moved him quickly to a CT scan, evaluated him and gave him TNK, a clot-busting medication, in record time,” said Dr. Peter Alamia, an emergency medicine physician. “From the moment he arrived, the entire team moved with one purpose: Get him the right treatment as fast as possible.”

Alamia said the team recognized that Ruperto was most likely having a large vessel occlusion stroke, which required immediate action.

Ruperto was later transferred for a successful thrombectomy and has made a near-full recovery.

Alicia Rosecrans, stroke program manager for AdventHealth East Orlando, said the case showed how many people come together in a stroke response -- from Consumer Access and triage to nurses, paramedics, imaging, pharmacy and lab.

“It is truly an entire team,” Rosecrans said. “Everybody knows exactly what they are supposed to do.”

“There are always a lot of people behind the scenes, and they do not necessarily get recognized until something like this happens.”

The care team later reunited with Ruperto, and 13 team members gathered to welcome him back, introduce themselves and explain the different roles they played in his care.

As each person stood to share their name and role, Ruperto smiled, expressed gratitude and often responded, “Oh, wow” and “Thank you.”

Visibly moved, he took time to shake hands with and personally thank the people who helped save his life.

He said he was surprised by how many team members were involved in his care.

“There are always a lot of people behind the scenes," Ruperto said. "And they do not necessarily get recognized until something like this happens.”

For Rosecrans, the reunion reflected more than a successful response.

“We not only took care of him physically but also made sure that spiritually he was taken care of,” she said. “That is exactly the type of whole-person care we want to give here.”

Ruperto said he left with gratitude for the team that responded so quickly.

“Thank you for bringing your A-game,” he said.