Bob Kane

Bob and Rena Kane celebrate their 60th anniversary with Dr. Brian Chong, Mayo Clinic, Diagnostic Radiology

Robert Kane was on the crest of celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife, Rena, when the unexpected happened. Bob, 84, instead gave his wife a real scare when he woke up feeling ill on Labor Day 2006. Alarmed at his weakened condition, Rena quickly called their daughter, Lori Gutierrez, who has been a nurse for 30 years.

"I got the call from my mother at 7 a.m.," recalls Lori. "She said Dad wasn't feeling well. When I got to their home, I could tell right away he was having a stroke. He just couldn't focus." An ambulance rushed Bob to the Mayo Clinic Hospital emergency department.

The family was told that an intracranial surgical procedure was Bob's best hope. "They told us that if they did the surgery, he had a 50 percent chance of recovering," says Lori. "Without the procedure, he had a 90 percent chance of not making it. We had to at least give him a chance."

What had started out as a holiday with the prospect of a family gathering had certainly taken a turn. Bob instead came through the front door of Mayo and was in surgery within four hours.

That surgery, as it turns out, was life-altering for the Kane family.

The Mayo Clinic team, led by Brian W. Chong, M.D., Diagnostic Radiology, and Bart Demaerschalk, M.D., Neurology, performed an intracranial thrombolysis, followed by an angioplasty. In thrombolysis, clots that are restricting blood flow are dissolved by various medications administered directly into the clots through a catheter. Angioplasty uses a tiny balloon threaded into the area of blockage. Once in this area, the balloon is inflated. As it expands, it forces the fatty plaque against the artery wall, opening the vessel.

"Mr. Kane improved the day after the treatments," says Dr. Chong. "This intervention allowed him to recover completely from a stroke that otherwise might have left him dead."

Four days later an intracranial stent was placed in Bob's brain. In this procedure, doctors make a small incision in the groin, then thread a catheter through the arteries and into the brain. Stents are small wire mesh coils that prop open the artery to improve blood flow.

Robert Kane, who had been comatose when he arrived, left the hospital less than three weeks later, using only a cane. Bob and Rena were able to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary - in a big way. Friends and family joined them for an anniversary cruise, planned by daughters Lori and Kim. A special guest of honor on the party barge on Lake Saguaro near Scottsdale was Dr. Brian Chong. Dr. Demaerschalk was also invited, but unable to attend. Beautiful flowers arrived from him in honor of Bob and Rena.

"My father is doing remarkably well," confirms Lori. What happened at the hospital was text book, and the way you always hope youd be treated if something like this happened. I was so impressed with the Mayo staff. The physicians were phenomenal. The entire team just managed the situation very well."

Robert continues to do well and recently had his driver's license renewed for another five years. He and his wife are looking forward to celebrating their next wedding anniversary, be it on land or lake.

"My father is not only alive, but maintaining his independence," says Lori. "It is really a miracle."