Two weeks ago, the diagnosis for 19 year old Rachel Wittrock couldn't have been worse. Dr. Adnan Siddiqui, a Neurosurgeon says, "When this girl came to us here at gates circle she was in a state one can easily say is worse than death."

And Dr. Elad Levy says, "This is an avid athlete, a 19 year old female who suffered what's known as a vertebral artery dissection or a tear in the artery."

It's something Doctors say could happen to anyone.

The tear caused blood clots to form in her brain, leading to a massive stroke. Her parents watched helplessly as their daughter slipped into paralysis. Mom, Ruth Wittrock says, "We watched her go from talking to us to no speech to not responding and obviously they told us this was usually a fatal event."

It was too late for the traditional stroke treatments. An experimental procedure performed only at Gates Circle Stroke Center was the Wittrock's only hope.

Dr. Elad Levy says, "Taking a stent and pushing the clot out of the way and rebuilding a channel for blood to flow to the brain. And this procedure without question saved the patient's life."

Now Rachel's voice and body are growing stronger by the day.

The stent procedure is still under investigation and has not been approved for use outside of the Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Stroke Center, making Rachel and her parents glad they were in Buffalo.