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Costas Mountanos

Contrary to what many people think, a stroke isn't always a sudden event. "I woke up in the morning and I didn't feel good," says Costas Mountanos, describing one October day in 1999. "By noon, I started feeling that something was wrong with my right side. And by afternoon I felt worse, so I went to the emergency room."

When Mountanos described his symptoms at the Emergency Department at UCSF Medical Center, doctors started checking him over right away.

"They decided that it was something like a stroke, but it hadn't come yet," Mountanos recalls. He was moved to a private room, with neurologist Dr. Clay Johnston spearheading his care after conferring with Mountanos' cardiologist, Dr. Eugene Shafton. By 11 p.m., the stroke had hit full force. Mountanos was paralyzed on the right side and he lost much of his ability to speak.

"I remember lots of doctors and nurses in the room. I remember that there was a Greek doctor there too because when I couldn't pronounce a word I was trying to say, he suggested the equivalent Greek word and I could pronounce that with difficulty."

Mountanos, whose first language was Greek, immigrated to the United States from Greece in 1957.

When Mountanos was ready to leave just a couple of days later, Johnston and his staff arranged for a physiotherapist, a speech therapist and a social worker to help him get settled and start therapy. The therapists continued to provide treatment at his home for the first couple weeks of his recovery.

"With Mr. Mountanos, the key was to help him recover and then to keep him stroke-free," says Johnston. "We've been very aggressive about treating his high blood pressure and high cholesterol and in finding the best prevention medications for him."

Three months after his stroke, Mountanos recalls, he still was going to physiotherapy but had recovered about 75 percent to 80 percent of full function.

"Now I'm back to 99 percent," Mountanos states proudly. "My speech is a little strained, which most people don't even realize but I do. And my right leg goes to the right a little bit when I walk because of some permanent nerve damage, but that doesn't bother me."

When he's outside on his frequent walks, he uses a cane, more for security reasons than to help him walk, Mountanos explains. He usually walks about a mile a day, sometimes outside and sometimes inside on his treadmill.

When he's not walking, Mountanos often can be found in front of his computer, which he uses to design Web sites on a volunteer basis for senior citizen groups and other nonprofit organizations. Mountanos served in various capacities in computer services management at United States government postings all around the world until his retirement in 1993.

"Because the doctors at UCSF Medical Center were able to treat my stroke early and because of the excellent post-stroke treatment of Dr. Johnston and the other medical staff," Mountanos says, "I've had an excellent recovery. I'm back to enjoying life and my hobbies -- computers and traveling."