A Stroke Couldn't Keep Jesus from Returning to his Family and his Taco Truck

Jesus Renteria is a 47-year husband and father, and owner of a successful taco truck business in Kansas City. One afternoon Jesus had finished serving lunch and returned home. That’s when his stroke came without previous warning: the worst headache Jesus had ever experienced. It spread through his whole head, and Jesus felt dizzy.

“My whole life I’ve been very healthy, so I had never been to a hospital. However, this was so painful I asked my wife to take me to the ER,” said Renteria.

When he arrived at the Emergency Department at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Jesus was met by Saint Luke’s stroke team, who immediately performed a CT scan. They quickly assessed that Jesus had blood on the brain, but luckily did not have an aneurysm and was neurologically intact.

Jesus’s wife, Josefina, and his sons stayed by his side during his week-long stay in the Neuro ICU at Saint Luke’s Hospital.

“The staff at Saint Luke’s was kind and dedicated, and I found them to be amazing,” said Renteria.

One of the physicians who provided care for Jesus during his time in the Neuro ICU was Dr. Andrew Schlachter, a neuro intensivist for Saint Luke’s Hospital. During one of Dr. Schlachter’s visits, Jesus shared that he owned a taco truck, and looked forward to getting back to work upon his recovery.

“I told him that when he got better, we were going to eat tacos together,” said Dr. Schlachter.

Several months later, Dr. Schlachter made good on his word. After returning to work in his taco truck, Jesus and his family stopped by Saint Luke’s Hospital to visit and share tacos with Dr. Schlachter. Together they visited members of the stroke team and delivered tacos to them.

Jesus’ oldest son, Jesus, expressed his gratitude: “Thanks to the doctors and team at Saint Luke’s, my dad was able to attend my wedding last month. That means the world to us.”