Robert Felberg, a neurologist and director of Overlook Stroke Center, oversaw the treatment of a stroke patient from a laptop in the cabin of his truck. (Photo by Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger)
You have a responsibility to the community that's bigger than you initially realized.
Its the Friday after Sandy, and neurologist Robert Felberg is stuck in his Morristown home without power. Yet off in Teaneck, an elderly man who has just suffered a stroke has been admitted to Holy Name Hospital.
Every minute he goes without treatment, 2 million brain cells die. Getting him immediate help will make the difference between returning home and going to a nursing home, between returning to normal life and being permanently impaired.
Normally Felberg, the medical director of the comprehensive stroke center at Overlook Hospital, would consult with the onsite doctor using special software on his laptop.
But the power outage leaves him without wireless signal at home. And the downed trees and power lines that litter the roads trap him in his Jockey Hollow neighborhood.
Felberg grabs his computer, hops into his green Toyota Tundra pickup truck and heads out in search of a 4G signal. Holding the laptop in the palm of his hand like a waiter delivering a pizza, he drives through parks, up peoples driveways and through their backyards.
"I was going to do anything I could to make sure this person got the care he deserved. It didnt matter who he was or where he was," Felberg says.
It takes him about 25 minutes before he finds a clearing with two bars of service. Working with a team led by Randy Tartacoff, a Holy Name specialist in emergency medicine, Felberg can finally look at the patients CT scan. He sees a 3-millimeter white spot, about the size of a pimple. It is a blood clot blocking blood flow to nearly a third of the brain, including the portion that controls the ability to speak and comprehend language.
The Telestroke software he uses works similarly to Skype, but with such fine definition that viewers can count the eyelashes of the person theyre viewing.
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Hurricane Sandy Heroes: Morristown doctor saves stroke victim via laptop during blackout