My Stroke Story
My stroke occurred in September of 2015. I was alone in the bedroom of our cabin near Flagstaff. It felt like a zipper was running down my back. Somehow, I knew I was having a stroke, but I had no idea how I knew that.
I immediately knew I had to call 911 on our landline phone. However, it was in the living room on the top of an end table.
​I tried to call out to our neighbors, but my diaphragm had been damaged, so my voice was impaired.
I was terrified!
My immediate concerns at that moment were:
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How would I get to the living room without the use of my left side?
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If I made it, how would I retrieve the phone from the table? (As I immediately realized I couldn’t raise up due to the stroke damage of my core?)
Thanks to a lifetime of exercise and sports activities, I knew my legs were strong. I began pushing myself down the hall on my back, with my only functioning leg. Wall-to-wall carpeting helped tremendously with my traction!
Once in the living room, the challenge was to retrieve the phone from the table. Since I couldn’t raise up with my core, I laid on my back and pondered. Luckily, there was a small pillow on the arm of my chair next to the table. I gingerly lifted and balanced the pillow on my right foot, delivering it onto the table next to the phone. I pushed the phone down to the floor with the pillow and called 911.
After what seemed like an eternity, the paramedics from the fire department down the hill arrived, but the front door was locked.
I asked the paramedics to try the back door, which was open! I was then whisked off to the hospital in Flagstaff.
Once at the hospital, my stroke was diagnosed as a “Massive Ischemic Stroke in the Basal Ganglia area of the brain,” which is on the right side of the brain, thus causing the left side to be affected.
Cause unknown.
After one week in the hospital, I was transferred to St. Luke’s Acute Rehab facility in Phoenix, where I spent 3 weeks.
My First Days
Acute Rehab
My very first steps were two weeks after my stroke at St Luke’s Acute Rehab facility where I took four steps which felt like a mile! Four weeks later - I was home at last!
SWAN Rehab & Entire Care Rehab
Therapy at SWAN for 2 years, 5 days a week, 4 hours a day.
Then, I reduced the days/hours at SWAN and spent more time exercising at home, at the cabin and working with Mark Ritter and Eric Mace in Sedona at Entire Care Rehab.
By the way - Kay Wing - owner of the center - told me later they almost didn't take me at SWAN because I was in such bad shape! Well I ended up flourishing there, thank goodness!
I've been working with Bonnie Pond, OT and pelvic floor specialist, at Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, on my incontinent issue which has existed since my stroke. She's fabulous! She's already helped me a great deal!
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THE BLOG
As I improved, I changed my mind and began the long process of finding the right website expert and creating a meaningful vision for my blog; AND I FOUND HER! RACHEL IS FANTASTIC!