Jennifer Mathews: The fact that this grandma can play Scrabble is pretty amazing. Eighty-seven year old Frances Bednarz had a stroke four months ago.
Frances Bednarz: It's such a blank. I just remember going to the hospital. That is about all I remember.
Rosemary Henry: She was looking at me and having a conversation with me, but it made no sense.
Jennifer Mathews: Frances suffered a brain hemorrhage -- bleeding in the brain caused by her stroke.
Dr. Joseph Broderick: It's a terrible type of stroke though, in that 40-45% of the patients who have a hemorrhage are dead at a month
Jennifer Mathews: Dr. Broderick says it was believed that bleeding in the brain lasts for just minutes after the stroke and then stops. But his research shows the bleeding can continue for hours.
Dr. Joseph Broderick: What this meant is that since the bleeding growth was a problem, if we had a therapy that could stop that, then that could make a difference for these patients.
Jennifer Mathews: The drug NovoSeven is already used to treat people who have bleeding problems. New research in Europe shows it also improves the outcome of stroke victims who have a hemorrhage.
Dr. Joseph Broderick: But if you can give something that you know changes the odds in their favor, that's something that's exciting.
Frances Bednarz: I usually read the newspaper here.
Jennifer Mathews: It's a treatment that could have helped Frances. She's beating the odds, but she's not happy she had to move to an assisted living facility.
Rosemary Henry: People are very frankly. She doesn't like it thoughm it's not home.
Jennifer Mathews: She makes the best of it knowing she survived what many people don't. This is Jennifer Mathews reporting.
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