FROM THIS WEEKS WAYNE COUNTY STAR:
May 14, 2007, was a Monday morning like no other for Tim Rutan. It was a school day and he was going through his daily routine before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Except for feeling a little tired, he woke up at his usual time and took a shower. It wasn’t until Tim tried to pull his arm through his shirt sleeve when he noticed things weren’t quite right.
The weekend had been especially busy. A fit athlete, he had participated in a soccer game and did very well. Also an avid runner and member of the track & cross country team at James Benway High School in Ontario, he was looking forward to breaking the record in an upcoming meet that he himself had broken the year before while a Sophomore. Saturday he had gone to the School Prom, and Sunday was Mother’s Day. He was looking forward to taking his AP Physics test that Monday morning, and going to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico the upcoming summer. He was just about finished with a project which would lead to the final achievement of an Eagle Scout badge.
But his arm wasn’t doing what his brain was telling it to do. It was weak and felt very strange. “I thought maybe if I looked away, kind of trick it, that it would work better” he said. It didn’t.
Walking out to the kitchen, he found his mother Cindy preparing breakfast. His father, Scott, was sitting in his chair in the living room, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. “I tried to tell the what was happening, but then I realized I couldn’t talk. Now I was getting scared.”
Cindy tells of the horror she felt at that moment. “His face was beginning to droop, the corner of his mouth was slack and his eyes were glassy. I knew something was terribly wrong. We called the ambulance and transported him to Rochester General.”
Although he never lost consciousness, Tim was diagnosed as suffering from “…an acute right sub dual infarct in the right frontal lobe.”
At 17 years old, Tim Rutan had suffered a stroke.
A Cat scan proved to show a blood clot in the middle cerebrum artery killed parts of his brain and affected the right side, which controlled the left side of his body. He had some weakness in his left leg, but could walk. Immediately the occupational therapists at Rochester General began working with him, strengthening his hands and arms, making sure his legs were still all right. A speech therapist also worked with him, once his voice returned and could swallow without a problem.
Incredibly, although his voice was fragile for the rest of the week, the hospital sent him home after 48 hours, fully recovered.
Although Tim was extremely fit, he and the rest of his family are convinced the power of prayer had a lot to do with his miraculous recovery. After all, this was not the first time the family had prayed for him.
Tim was born on April 10, 1990, 13 weeks premature. His father, now a staff member of St. Patrick’s Church in Victor, baptized Tim at 3-4 minutes old and was immediately put on a respirator to help him breathe.
”This only shows how much of a fighter my son is”, explained his still incredulous dad. “At four and half pounds, he pulled the tube out himself. The nurse on duty was panicked, but quickly realized he was breathing just fine on his own.”
A prayer chain was quickly created between all of their family members and friends, who prayed for the little boy who was so determined to not let anything get the better of him. He went home 4 weeks later.
It was this same prayer circle of friends and family that shot into action when Tim had the stroke, only this time the reach was so much farther. His older brother, Michael, who was away at college, sent out the need for prayers via emails from New York to Connecticut and back, hitting all his friends at MySpace, Facebook, and any other way he could communicate the urgency.
Tim was happy to have recovered so quickly, and couldn’t understand why he was given the red light when it came to sports. He was extremely angry when the doctors told him he could no longer take part in different meets. “All I wanted to do was go back to running, and was so mad because I felt fine!”
It was for good reason, however. An ultra sound and stress test of his heart showed he suffered from Peyton Foreman Ovale, or PFO, which is a hole in between the two top chambers of his heart. Every baby has this while they are inutero, as it is how blood and oxygen flows from the mother to the baby. This hole closes up right before birth, but in 25% of babies it remains open, requiring surgery to close it.
July of that year found him back in the hospital where cardiologist, Dr. Carl Johnston, performed the procedure to close it. Tim was in the hospital for two days, and was laid up for four weeks at home. Dr. Johnston, an avid runner himself, encouraged him and knew he would one day run again. He has since become his coach and mentor, as well as close family friend.
Tim also accredits his recovery to Dr. Johnston who has “…an incredible work ethic and stamina. He would never let me give up.”
Humility and good humor are also qualities that helped Tim get through this trying ordeal. He has never asked ‘why me?’ or blamed anyone. When asked how he felt about being profiled in the paper, with typical modesty he smiled and said “It felt a little weird, but I guess its okay.”
He also offered these sobering thoughts. “Things may happen to you that you don’t expect. I never expected to have a stroke being so young. But work through the hard times, and LET people help you that can, rely on others who know what they are doing. Don’t let pride get in the way and think you can do it all yourself. I couldn’t; no one can.”
Tim has been accepted at Nazareth College in Pittsford and wants to become a Physical Therapist.
