It was a morning like most others. Don Onken, then 78, was on the golf course, while his wife, Diane, was poring over paperwork in her office, where she worked as a Realtor.
Then the phone rang. Don seems to be “unwell,” his golf buddies told Diane. They’d sat him down, but he was mumbling a bit.
“I just knew it was a stroke,” said Diane.
An ambulance took him to UC San Francisco, which is designated as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.
This wasn’t the only emergency to take place in their 50-plus year marriage.
Decades ago, they lost a 10-year-old son to leukemia and a newborn daughter died suddenly. “You never get over that,” Diane said. But the latter years had been kind. Their surviving child had flourished and had a family of his own. The couple enjoyed trips to Europe and socializing with friends.
![Don Onken walks down a treelined street with his wife and dog](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-walking-with-his-wife-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![Don Onken walks down a treelined street with his wife and dog](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-walking-with-his-wife.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
“Don had a full life. I was scared that the stroke meant he would have mobility issues,” she said.
![Don Onken plays with his dog in his living room](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-dog-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![Don Onken plays with his dog in his living room](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-dog.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
As the ambulance made its way to the UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights, Anthony Kim was getting ready for Don. “Time is brain,” is a saying touted by stroke experts to relay the importance of prompt treatment.
![A doctor points to a clot in a CT scan of the patient's brain](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-brain-scan-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![A doctor points to a clot in a CT scan of the patient's brain](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-brain-scan.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
Within 28 minutes, Don underwent an initial evaluation and CT scan and received an IV drug to help dissolve the clot.
Kim determined that Don’s stroke would require a stroke thrombectomy – surgically removing the clot, via a catheter threaded from the leg to the affected blood vessel.
![Don Onken speaks with his radiologist Steven Hetts](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-doctor-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![Don Onken speaks with his radiologist Steven Hetts](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-doctor.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
Within minutes, neuro-interventional radiologist Steven Hetts successfully restored blood flow to the cerebral artery.
Meanwhile, Diane waited with Don’s golfing buddies, Dennis and Richie, worrying about possible disabilities.
![Don Onken shakes hands with Steven Hetts](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-doctor-ucsf-health-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![Don Onken shakes hands with Steven Hetts](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-doctor-ucsf-health_0.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
Her concern would not be realized. Some 36 hours after buckling on the golf course, Don was discharged from UCSF. It would be a few weeks before he would return to the golf course, long enough for him to reflect on his incredible fortune.
![Don Onken walks between two friends on the golf course while laughing](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_square_card/public/2022-08/don-onken-golf-laughing-square.jpg?h=ecfff384)
![Don Onken walks between two friends on the golf course while laughing](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2022-08/don-onken-golf-laughing.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
“There are two things that saved my life,” he said. “Fast-acting friends, and Dr. Kim and Dr. Hetts. Without their immediate care and expertise, there would be no happy ending.”
![exterior of the UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus Heights at night](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_news_package_banner/public/2020-06/UCSF-Medical-Center-Parnassus-Heights-exterior-signage-night.jpg?h=7ad8c004)
UCSF Health is ranked #2 nationwide by US News & World Report for neurology and neurosurgery.
If you’ve suffered a stroke, or are at risk of stroke, talk to the experts at the UCSF Stroke Clinic about our advanced treatment options.