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Mycle B.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
By: Mycle B.
Mycle
Survivor
This summer Mycle Brandy is
going to spread stroke awareness across the entire west coast of the United
States. He plans to walk from San Diego to Seattle in a walk he’s calling S2S.
He will begin this new adventure on July 17th from the City Hall in San Diego,
California and complete it on November 11, 2011 at the City Hall in Seattle.
Along the way he plans to spread his message to as many people as he can
through local and national media. He plans to visit stroke patients in
hospitals and stroke survivors in support groups along the way.
Mycle Brandy is a 4-time stroke
survivor who experienced his first stroke at the early age of 37. Monday, July
11, 2011 was the 23rd anniversary of the events that led to his first stroke in
1988. On this day, in 1988, Mycle fell from the side of a work truck and his
foot was wedged under a tire. His helper inadvertently ran over and crushed his
foot.
About two weeks later, Mycle
suffered a severe headache for no known reason and the following day,
completely lost all the hearing in his right ear and 80% of the hearing in his
left ear. Two weeks after the headache, Mycle had an MRI taken of his brain and
the results were devastating! He was the victim of a stroke! At just 37
years-old, in good physical condition, he could not imagine how he could be a
victim of the “old age disease”. Yet, here it was. A stroke!!
On Mother’s Day, 1997, he
experienced his 3rd and most disabling stroke. In the blink of an eye, he was
thrown backwards onto his couch from the explosion in his frontal lobe. His
peripheral vision disappeared and his complete right side was paralyzed and
numb. He was rushed to the hospital and the ER doctor made an incorrect
diagnosis and sent him home. The next day his Neurologist rushed him back to
the hospital. He left the hospital in a wheelchair and was forced to use one
for the next year and a half. Not accepting his disability, he began his own
personal therapy to get himself out of the chair. He began by squeezing a
tennis ball and raising his leg as he sat in the wheelchair. He worked his way
out of the wheelchair and began strengthening his right side.
In 2002, he experienced his 4th stroke. He knew if he was to reach 50 he was
going to have to change his lifestyle dramatically. He decided to discontinue
using all his prescriptions for pain, stop drinking alcohol and stop smoking.
He knew this was no longer a choice but was a life-sustaining decision he
needed to make if he was to see his grandchildren graduate from school.
He started walking the 6 miles
back and forth to his gym daily. He lost 100 lbs. while re-strengthening his
weakened right side. In December of 2004, he received a postcard from the
American Heart/Stroke Association’s marathon training program “Train To End
Strokes”. His wife, Louise, and he decided to give it a try and they trained
for and completed the 2005 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon. Since then his wife
and he have completed 11 full Marathons and 20 Half Marathons combined.
Without talking it over with
anyone (including his wife Louise) he announced to the world that he was going
to walk across America.
On February 14, 2010, he began
his walk across America from California. He walked for nearly 8 months from
Newport Beach, California to Washington DC. The most rewarding part of his
journey was spent visiting stroke patients in hospitals and stroke survivors in
support groups.
Mycle’s message remains clear.
A sedentary life-style is a breeding ground for stroke and heart disease. Just
a minimal amount of exercise diminishes the chances of stroke and heart disease
demonstrably.
During his walk across America
he was able to reach over 50 million people with his message of hope. This
summer he could reach the same amount of people as he walks over a different
part of America. His dream is to spread his message to the world. “I’m walking
across America to encourage others to walk across their part of America.”
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