Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1482621
4 | Health Matters: Providence Little Company of Mary San Pedro and Torrance In a Matter of Minutes At Providence Little Company of Mary, stroke care is excellent and expedient. O ne morning in mid-February, Gabrielle Perkins, a 33-year-old hair salon owner and mother of a 10-year-old son, awakened in her home in San Pedro and got up to use the bathroom, the sort of thing she might normally do without a second thought. But this day was terrifyingly different. "When I got out of bed, I just fell to the floor," she recalls. Perkins didn't realize it, but she had suffered a stroke, in which a massive blood clot had become lodged in an artery, blocking the flow of oxygen-rich blood to part of her brain. Oxygen-starved brain cells were starting to die, causing damage that can interfere with a person's ability to perform basic functions such as walking and standing. Though Perkins was partly paralyzed, she still had the ability to speak and use one of her hands. She reached for her phone and called her brother Guylen, who quickly came over. At Perkins' request, he helped her into the bathroom, where she fell a second time. "He was like, 'OK, sister, I think I'm going to take you to the doctor,' " Perkins says. With a stroke, prompt diagnosis and treatment are critical for stopping further damage and reducing the 4 | Health Matters: Providence Little Company of Mary San Pedro and Torrance Monica Orozco Photography Gabrielle Perkins, a 33-year-old hair salon owner, is back to serving her clients after receiving lifesaving stroke treatment.