48-year-old Plainfield, NJ, Man Experiences Surprise Stroke

On the morning of October 26, 2023, Glenn Williams, 48, woke up and reached over to hit the snooze button on his phone. He fell off the bed and couldn’t get up. Perplexed, he called for his wife, Shellon. She came over to help him and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Just from her face, I knew it was bad—she looked really worried,” says Glenn, who lives in Plainfield, New Jersey. “Normally, I can do push-ups. But I couldn’t even push myself up off the floor.”

He had a weak face, arm and leg on one side of his body. Luckily, Shellon knew these were classic stroke symptoms. She called 911, and Glenn was taken to JFK University Medical Center. There, he was diagnosed with an ischemic stroke caused by a large vessel occlusion (blockage) of the middle cerebral artery. He had an endovascular thrombectomy, a minimally invasive surgery to remove the blood clot in his brain.

When Time Is of the Essence 

Glenn’s case was unique because he was a young and healthy man outside the standard age range for a stroke, says Brian Jankowitz, M.D., a cerebrovascular neurosurgeon at Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at JFK. “Many people don’t think of a debilitating stroke happening in a 48-year-old,” Dr. Jankowitz says. “But stroke does not discriminate.”

“Time is brain” is a common phrase used in reference to strokes, and it’s meant to emphasize the importance of fast action: A person loses 1.9 million neurons, or brain cells, every minute they’re having a stroke, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The time between Glenn arriving at the hospital and completing the thrombectomy was just 55 minutes, Dr. Jankowitz says, which exceeds national standards for performing endovascular treatments. This quick action was crucial. “Only because his wife was by his side and quickly recognized the symptoms and called 911 was his life saved,” Dr. Jankowitz says. “Time definitely is brain.”

Glenn was very pleased with the quick and effective treatment he received. “Everything from coming out of surgery to being discharged went really well,” he says. “Everyone was so nice and just took great care of me.”

Back to 100 Percent After Stroke Treatment

Emergency medical services (EMS) gave Glenn the choice between JFK and another hospital nearby. He chose JFK because it was closer to his home, and he couldn’t be happier with his decision. JFK is a Joint Commission Accredited Comprehensive Stroke Center, which means the hospital has specific abilities to receive and treat the most complex stroke cases.

At this point, Glenn can proudly say he is experiencing no long-term side effects. “If no one told me I had a stroke, I wouldn’t believe it because I didn’t lose any of my senses or abilities—nothing,” he says. 

Adds Dr. Jankowitz: “Today, Glenn can do everything he wants to do, which is a very rare outcome after a thrombectomy. This only happens in around one in 100 patients.”

Glenn can still work (which often includes walking six miles a day), play guitar, exercise, do yard work and spend time with his 9-year-old son, Gabriel. “I was fortunate that I survived and everything was taken care of in time,” Glenn says. “My outlook on life is a little bit different now.”

Next Steps & Resources

• Meet our source: Brian Jankowitz, M.D.
• To make an appointment with a neurologist near you, call 800-822-8905 or visit our website.
• Learn more about stroke care at Hackensack Meridian Health