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‘Don’t be stubborn’ – DJ Saved from Life-Threatening Condition

SUNBURY — Sometimes even people who are young and healthy have serious medical scares. That was the case recently of a man from central Pennsylvania. If y...
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SUNBURY -- Sometimes even people who are young and healthy have serious medical scares. That was the case recently of a man from central Pennsylvania. If you don't recognize the face, you may recognize the voice.

Drew Kelly is on the air at 94KX - WQKX Sunbury, Selinsgrove, Lewisburg. He's the host of the station's morning show along with his wife Ali Stevens.

Drew always considered himself a healthy guy, 44 years old, a marathon runner.

"I don't have any bad health history in my family, heart attack, stroke, none of that exists, no cancer.  I'd go to the doctor if I had a cold," Kelly said.

It was a sinus infection and headaches that dogged him a few months ago, along with an eye that was suddenly acting funny. So he contacted his family doctor of 15 years, Dr. James Patterson at Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg.

"Drew and I have a great relationship," said Dr. Patterson.  "He's not afraid to call me for little things.  It's important to have that relationship with your doctor."

But after a few scans, what Dr. Patterson found wasn't a little thing.

"I was coming back from lunch and I had a "stat" page from the radiologist, which never happens," he recalled.

Dr. Patterson consulted with a few of his colleagues and called Drew with their frightening conclusion.

"They said he needs to be seen immediately, right now.  Chew an aspirin, have somebody drive him to Geisinger."

Drew had a bilateral carotid artery dissection.

Bilateral: meaning on both sides of his neck.  Carotid: the name of the major vessels that deliver blood to your brain.  Dissection: a tear on the internal wall of the artery.

Clinically, not enough blood getting to his brain.

"It looks like I-80 four lanes wide is now closed down to the berm," Drew laughed.

Dr. Christopher Cummings is a vascular neurologist, one of the many doctors waiting for Drew in the ER at Geisinger Medical Center that day.

"This is essentially, the artery wall has torn apart, and the inner layer is now blocking part of the artery where blood would normally flow," said Dr. Cummings.

When that happens, Dr. Cummings explains, a blood clot can form at that spot, and a stroke can occur.

Because Drew got help when he did, the condition can be treated with medication: pain killers for the headache, blood pressure medication and blood thinners to alleviate blockage and allow the dissections to heal.  He may need stents in the future but can work, drive, and be with his family.

The running will have to stop for now, but he'll be reevaluated every few months.

His message now: stop being so stubborn and pay attention to yourself.

"If I, indeed, was headed for a stroke, that could have been life-changing for somebody who talks for a living," Drew said.

Dr. Cummings says artery dissections are most typically caused by trauma -- a car accident for example -- but even moving furniture or coughing severely can do it. He also says recent infections could play a role.

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