“Dr. Madison’s skill and expertise, combined with the exceptional care provided by the entire staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, was simply fantastic!” Bob Mellas
Bob Mellas, at age 63, considered himself fortunate for never having to undergo any
major health problems. So when he suffered a stroke in March 2007, in the isolated north
woods of Minnesota, he and his family were in disbelief.
Mellas and his wife, Kathleen, were enjoying an early spring weekend at their cabin on
Cross Lake. While loading wood into his van, he violently collapsed. Mellas couldn’t stand,
nor have the strength to pull himself off of the ground.
Luckily, he had his cell phone hooked to his belt. With a painstakingly difficult call to his
wife, he alerted her to the seriousness of his condition. Clearly alarmed, Kathleen called
911. Emergency personnel arrived in mere minutes and whisked him directly to a hospital
in nearby Brainerd, Minnesota.
Upon receiving emergency care at the local hospital, Mellas was diagnosed with an acute
ischemic stroke. A clot was dangerously lodged in the main artery feeding the frontal lobe
of his brain. Since more advanced treatment was needed to remove this type of clot,
Mellas would have to be transferred to a more specialized facility. In less than an hour,
Mellas was airlifted to the National Brain Aneurysm Center (formerly known as the
HealthEast Neurovascular Institute).
Coincidentally, one of the medical professionals in Brainerd had attended a neurovascular
seminar conducted by Mike Madison, MD, director of interventional neuroradiology at St.
Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul.
Dr. Madison’s renowned expertise in innovative neurovascular treatment techniques gave
the Brainerd physician the motivation to recommend St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul –
specifically under the care of Dr. Madison – as the best specialized neuro care center for
Mellas.
Even with things progressing quickly, the needs of the Mellas family were not overlooked.
Dr. Madison reassured Kathleen in a phone conversation that the highly efficient
Penumbra System technology was her husband’s greatest option for survival. Kathleen
recalls Dr. Madison’s words, “I promise I’ll treat him just as if he were a member of my
own family.”
In less than three hours from the stroke onset, Mellas’ clot had been suctioned out by Dr.
Madison using the Penumbra System.
The cause of Mellas’ clot was later attributed to atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia of the
heart. He did not have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and there was no prior
history of stoke in his family. “I had never experienced a major medical problem, so this
came as a complete surprise,” recalls Mellas.
“I thank God that I was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital,” says Mellas. “Dr. Madison’s skill
and expertise, combined with the exceptional care provided by the entire staff at St.
Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, was simply fantastic!”
