Tinton Falls Man: I'm 31 And I Had A Stroke From The Coronavirus

TINTON FALLS, NJ — As a nurse, Tom Ciancia has cared for dozens of stroke patients. He just never thought it would happen to him — at least not in his early 30s.

Ciancia, 31, works as a nurse at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He knew his odds of contracting coronavirus were extremely high and indeed, he got the virus this month. And just one week ago, he suffered a scary side effect from COVID-19: He had a stroke where he lost sensation on the left side of his face and body.

Ciancia lives in Tinton Falls, and every day he drives north up the Parkway to report for duty at the hospital. Ciancia is a rapid-response nurse, meaning he's one of the people who rushes to the door when a patient is brought in suffering from a heart attack, sudden stroke or respiratory failure. Once the coronavirus hit, he started caring for COVID patients day in and day out. Some of the patients died; some of them lived.

He was not deterred. He was not scared. "I love my job; I can't wait to get back to work," said Ciancia, who is recovering at home. "I love what I do and I love taking care of patients."

Sure enough, on May 11, Ciancia started developing symptoms.

"I had a fever, but it only lasted for one day. After that it turned into severe fatigue, a severe headache and I lost my sense of smell and taste," said Ciancia.

He immediately stopped going into work and got tested at a nearby urgent care clinic in Tinton Falls (the results came back positive). As he isolated at home, Ciancia knew the chances of him getting sicker or having a stroke could not be ruled out.

"Oh, absolutely it was on my mind," he told Patch. "Working in the hospital, you see the worst —we know COVID is potentially life-threatening; we see patients on ventilators, we see people have strokes from this. You know what to expect and you always know it can become worse."

Ciancia said he thinks the stroke occurred at night, when he was sleeping last Sunday, May 17.

"I woke up the next morning and that's when I noticed the decreased sensation on the left side of my face and on the left side of my body," he said. "I can best describe it as my left side felt numb and different than my right side. I knew it was a stroke."

He was admitted right away to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, where he was given blood-thinners.

Doctors across the nation are reporting COVID patients, young and old, being hit with strokes. Some of the patients didn't even know they were sick when the stroke occurred.

While it is important to remember most people who get coronavirus will likely not have a stroke, several studies have now shown that some COVID patients can develop acute ischemic stroke, warns the CDC. Coronavirus can cause large blood clots to form throughout the body, which can be fatal when they travel to the heart, brain or lungs.

Ciancia was only admitted to the hospital for one night, and sent home to recuperate and told to continue taking the blood thinners. He counts himself as one of the lucky ones.

One 27-year-old EMT in Queens, who was otherwise completely healthy, contracted the coronavirus and then suffered a series of strokes and seizures. He had to be put on a ventilator for several weeks, but is now off the breathing machine and recovering.

"Honestly, I think that's one of the biggest dangers of this virus — the blood clots," said Ciancia. "I would say I had a very minor stroke case. There are people who got this who can't move their arms or legs. The neurologist is optimistic that I'll get all my feeling back and I'm definitely going back to work; I can't wait."

Ciancia said he has not noticed any speech or neurological impairments. The blood thinners are helping, as he's regaining feeling on the left side of his body.

"This is a very serious virus," he warned on his Facebook page, in a post that has been shared 3,000 times. "My takeaway is please continue to social distance, wear your masks and wash your hands."

However, Ciancia said he also thinks the economy should be fully reopened and supports the growing movement in New Jersey to reopen all small businesses, such as hair salons, day cares and restaurants.

"I firmly believe that we need to open the economy; I don't think all the businesses should remain closed," he said. "If they don't open, these businesses are going to fail. But do it in a safe way — wear a mask and social distance."