Kent Winchell of Old Lyme and his wife, Kathy, with some of his paintings. Several months ago, a YNHHS neurologist implanted a nerve stimulation device to aid his recovery following a stroke.
Kent Winchell is left-handed, and for decades that’s how he held brushes while creating award-winning oil paintings of landscapes and village scenes around his hometown of Old Lyme.
A debilitating stroke about two years ago was extra difficult because the damage to his brain incapacitated his left side. During the stroke (his second) Winchell was home, chatting with his brother, when suddenly he couldn’t move his left arm or speak. Winchell’s wife, Kathy, called 911, and they remain forever grateful for the EMTs and the life-saving stroke care at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Winchell’s doctor, Rachel Forman, MD, a Yale New Haven Health neurologist, specializes in treating stroke and its consequences. She is also an assistant professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine where she is involved with stroke research.
Dr. Forman identified Winchell as an ideal candidate for an FDA-approved, implantable device that when combined with traditional physical and/or occupational therapy helps stimulate the vagus nerve. The device strengthens neural pathways and helps patients regain function more effectively than therapy alone.
“Kent was an ideal candidate for the nerve stimulation device because recovering from a stroke is not simply about muscle weakness,” she said. “We’re trying to strengthen his brain’s ability to send signals to the weakened limb.”
Winchell is the first YNHHS patient to use the Vivistim device, which is implanted during an outpatient procedure and sits under the skin on his chest, like a pacemaker. A thin wire connects to the vagus nerve. When activated, the device sends a gentle electrical pulse to the nerve and, as Kent has experienced, helps him move his left hand and leg. Kent is expected to use the device during therapy and can turn it on to help him accomplish a task.
Nerve stimulation is not new; for over 25 years, it’s been used to treat conditions like epilepsy. The brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself after injury, Dr. Forman said. Pairing mild vagus nerve stimulation with active physical or occupational exercises engages the brain networks involved in relearning movement, she said. By reinforcing existing neural pathways and encouraging new ones to form during therapy, the approach aims to significantly improve motor recovery.
Winchell said his progress with the Vivistim has been steady rather than immediate, but since starting the therapy three to four months ago, he’s made progress. He is almost ready to go back into his studio and dust off his paint brushes. “I’ll start with my right hand and then try with my left. Is it going to be good or bad? I don’t know. But we’ll see.”
“We really feel lucky that we’ve had Yale New Haven Health and Dr. Forman on our team, because it’s really made a difference,” Kathy said.
The fact that her husband is at least ready to give painting another try is a breakthrough of its own, she said. “We’ve been through so much, but we’re still finding joy in life. I can’t wait to see what Kent will paint for us next.”
