FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 76-year-old stroke survivor reunited with his heroes on Thursday at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Thanks to revolutionary AI tools, the team was able to do in minutes what used to take hours.

Alfred Forbes knows he’s walking and talking thanks to the paramedics with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and a capable vascular interventional neurologist at Broward Health.

Forbes was about to board a plane to Jamaica last month when his wife noticed his face was drooping, among other key signs of a stroke.

“I was told that if I had boarded that flight, I would be a body bag coming off that flight,” he said.

After first responders rushed him to the emergency room, Dr. Mehdi Bouslama was able to use AI tools through his smartphone to diagnose Forbes and get his stroke team ready to act.

“What AI does, it’s trained to recognize whether there’s an interruption of blood flow, but also gives us information on salvageable tissue,” said Bouslama.

When it comes to treating a stroke, every second matters.

“AI also helps us communicate with our teams, so I get the images on my phone,” said Bouslama. “I literally just slide a button called the ‘go button’ and the team is activated.”

That quick action allowed Forbes to recover to a pretty normal life.

He’s about to rejoin his team for his favorite pastime, playing softball.

“They can’t wait to have me back,” he said.

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