William H.
Monday, January 24, 2011
By: Barbara J.

Survivor

I am 48 years old, 225 pounds of mostly muscle and have a DVM degree. I ran a mile, three to four days a week.  On Sunday afternoon, I bench pressed 305. On Tuesday afternoon, I left work early with a severe headache. When I woke up Wednesday morning, my left arm and leg were numb. When I looked in the mirror and I saw my face drooping, I knew that I had suffered a stroke. The fancy diagnosis was a sub cortical ischemic stroke. Within 24 hours, my muscles were completely flaccid on the left side. The worst thing to deal with is the frustration at my inability to perform the simplest tasks: opening packages, personal hygiene, even just standing up, sitting down and let’s not even talk about putting on clothes. My last week of inpatient therapy, I could bench press a broom stick. With prayers from countless people, hours of therapy each day, hard work, determination and great therapists, I have gone from being totally unable to use my arm and leg to being able to walk and hold small objects with my fingers. The therapists say that I am getting better rapidly. To me, it seems to be even slower than a snail's pace. The future is what I make it. God put this stroke in my path as a learning experience. It has really taught me a lot about myself and I have no doubt there is a lot left to learn.