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WEST POINT — After contracting COVID-19 and spending five days in the hospital, Cory Horton's family thought the worst was behind them. Unfortunately, 24 hours later he was back in the hospital with a blood clot.
"He couldn't talk, and then his whole right side of his body was going numb," Randi Huston, Cory's sister said.
The blood clot in Cory's brain had caused a stroke. Doctors performed an emergency surgery but it was unsuccessful. The 41-year-old father and grandfather died of a COVID-19 stroke.
"Unfortunately it just kept bleeding," Huston said. "We have learned that this is something that is happening a lot with COVID patients and it's frustrating for these medical professionals. It's just taking people too young."
Horton was not vaccinated and his family said it was a decision he regretted.
"If he could have changed things and did things differently, he would have and he voiced that to us while he was in the hospital," Huston said.
The family's focus now turns to using his story to educate others.
"He would want anybody that could to take the precautions that they need to not let this happen to them," Huston said.
Meghan Murri, critical care director of Lone Peak Hospital's ICU, has treated her fair share of patients for strokes caused by COVID-19.
"With COVID, like many viruses, it impacts your blood. It becomes thicker you end up having a higher risk for clots," Murri said.
The clots are complications she said could impact any demographic, even individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
"I've seen the people who are severely sick with COVID in the hospital develop stroke symptoms and then I've also seen people who have recovered in the community from COVID and come in with stroke symptoms," she said. "I have seen it a few different times of some younger individuals 30 and 40 year olds."
Murri said spotting the signs of stroke earlier can make all the difference. She uses the acronym BE FAST as a guideline.
- B: Balance — sudden dizziness or loss of balance or coordination
- E: Eyes — sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- F: Face — sudden weakness of the face
- A: Arm — weakness of an arm or leg
- S: Speech — sudden difficulty speaking
- T: Time — time the symptoms started
Friends and family have set up a *GoFundMe account to help Cory's wife, Jenny, and their four children.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
