Linda Muncy

Imagine being a firefighter rushed to the scene of a car collision where you see an unresponsive woman having the worst stroke you've ever witnessed. You're taken aback when you realize the woman in peril is your mother.

This nightmare scenario was firefighter Jerry Tafoya's reality. He and his team broke the window of his mother Linda Muncy's van and rushed her to the Comprehensive Stroke Center at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. Within minutes, she underwent surgery, and today, Linda has no deficits.

The hospital, which received its comprehensive stroke center status in early 2019, offers the full array of stroke treatment for Ocala and surrounding residents.

“Otherwise, patients would need to be transferred to either Gainesville, Orlando or Tampa, and time is brain,” Dr. Iraj Nikfarjam, medical director of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital’s comprehensive stroke program, said. “The longer it takes to provide treatment to these kinds of patients, the worse outcome, which means that the sooner the patient comes to a comprehensive stroke center and the sooner treatment is provided, the much better recovery and less risk of complication.”

We're grateful that this mother and son get to spend Mother's Day together this year and for the providers who cared for Linda at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital.