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Mike C.  Mike Survivor I have come a long way since my stroke. I was a CEO of a software company here in Silicon Valley. I had the stroke on my left side of my brain. My physical side healed fairly quickly, and within a year I was walking and driving the way I had before. In fact, I raced, and walked mostly, the Bay to Breakers race (7.5 miles in the City), seven months after my stroke. It took me 3 1/2 hours. I had to do this race, as I had been participating 20 years in a row, and I didn't want to break my record. My stroke also left me with some Aphasia, but mostly Apraxia, a motor speech disorder. And that took much longer to come back. Everyday, I will still be working on it. Through the Peninsula Stroke Association, I am a volunteer with the Peer Visitor program, meeting new stroke patients while still in the hospital. I have also participated in telling my experience about stroke, and the aftermath to hospital nurses at stroke centers, here on the Peninsula. During my rehabilitation, my wife has been a constant source of encouragement, and because she didn't want to give up on me when the stroke occurred, neither did I. |
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