From the elite to the casual athlete, injuries can change our lives.
As we have seen at the Olympics, an injury can be devastating. Whether physical or mental, your health is vital. Doctors who keep you healthy are just as important! Our KNX Helpful Honda Hero of the Week is one of those amazing doctors!
Michael Lehman is a senior associate minister at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. He loves hiking and rock climbing, and lives a healthy lifestyle. One day in March, after taking a shower, Michael suddenly blacked-out. "I had a couple of falls, but nothing serious," explains the 37 year-old. "Certainly nothing that gave me any indication that there was an injury or anything wrong."
As a precaution, Michael decided to get checked out. That decision may have saved his life. He drove to Adventist Health Glendale, where he met Dr. Mikayel Grigoryan, an Interventional Neurologist, who put Michael through a couple of tests.
Their meeting was meant to be.
See, Michael had only learned of the hospital just a few days prior. He also did not know at the time that he was just moments away from suffering a massive stroke that could have killed him, or caused him to be paralyzed from the face down. Dr. Grigoryan at Adventist Health Glendale was just the person who could help save him.
"What he had was a very unusual kind of injury," explains Dr. Grigoryan. "We have two blood vessels that run in the neck, that go towards the back of the brain. He had dissections or tears in both of his vertebral arteries. One of which, that was completely shut down. And, the other was just hanging, literally by a thread."
Michael underwent emergency surgery, and it was not easy. Dr. Grigoryan had to use heart stints to repair the tears, since there are none for this rare type of injury. "It’s not your textbook kind of case," says Dr. Grigoryan. "You need to really think outside the box, what you're going to do in this instance. It doesn't happen very often."
The surgery was extremely delicate and complicated, but successful! Dr. Grigoryan and his steady hands not only saved Michael's life, he saved his quality of life. Michael is now recovering, and is able to hike as he did before.
"From the perspective of my faith, I am grateful to God, for Dr. Grigoryan," says the senior associate minister. "And also, that I happened to go to that hospital!"
Dr. Mikayel Grigoryan of Adventist Health Glendale is our KNX Hero of the Week!
"I'm just doing my job," says the neurosurgeon, humbly. "I'm happy that Michael did very well, and the most rewarding thing is he's functionally independent. I'm glad we were able to help."
KNX Heroes is brought to you by California Resources Corporation, saluting our military veterans, and all of our heroes! Go to https://crc.com/ for more information.
Find out what your Helpful SoCal Honda Dealers are up to this month, by heading to their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SoCalHondaDealers/
Do you have someone you’d like to nominate as an upcoming KNX Hero of the Week? Fill out an application form at https://www.audacy.com/knxnews/nominate
You can also send an email directly to the host of KNX Hero of the Week - Heather Jordan - to heroes@KNX1070.com