Stroke Smart Magazine November/December 2006 FEATURE: MARC MCEWEN Printer Friendly Version Marc McEwen Finds His Calling By Brian Kolonick After Mark McEwen's September 12, 2006 appearance on CBS's “The Early Show,” he received calls of congratulations from friends and colleagues, including a call from former president George Bush. McEwen had been with CBS since 1987, but left in 2002 to take a position at WKMG in Orlando. Over the years, he had amassed thousands of appearances on morning television. Yet this latest appearance was special. Mark McEwen had made his journey back, beating the stroke that nearly took his life 10 months prior. In mid-November 2005, McEwen was heading home to Orlando after a brief trip to the Washington D.C. area. “I was sweating a lot and my mobility was just not right that day,” recalled McEwen in a recent interview. “I went to the emergency room and they determined that I just had a bad case of the flu.” Instead of flying home as planned, he stayed in town to recuperate. After two days, he felt good enough to fly again. But on the November 18th return flight to Orlando, McEwen suffered a massive stroke. Turns out that it wasn't the flu that had sidelined him. Rather, he had suffered a minor stroke. “I would have never gotten on the plane two days later if I had known what was really wrong.” Had he known about the first stroke, he also may have taken steps to prevent the second, bigger one. “I had a wheelchair and was supposed to be first off the flight in Orlando, but I was the last off the plane,” said McEwen. “In Orlando, as they wheeled me to the curb to be picked up, I kept calling my wife Denise and all I kept saying was, 'Help me, this is bad, help me,' over and over again.” McEwen's wife realized how serious the situation was and told Mark to hand the phone to a stranger, who immediately called 911. “When I looked up in my hospital bed and saw my brother, sisters, cousins and my dad, that's when I knew something was wrong,” he said. McEwen had a blood clot in his cerebellum and remained in the hospital for a week. As soon as he got out, McEwen began rehabilitation to help him regain his movement, ability to walk, swallow and speak again. “When I first came home after the stroke, I had to use a walker. On the baby monitor I could hear our twin two-year old boys crying, and I told Denise that I would take care of it. By the time I made it back to their room with the walker, they were fast asleep. When I finally made it back to my wife she was asleep! Nowadays I can walk just fine without the walker.” As his ability to move around improved, McEwen continued to work on his speech. For McEwen, his speaking voice served as his livelihood. “I was in television and radio, so I made my living through my voice,” said McEwen “They said if I had any other job I would be back to work already, but because I talk for a living I'm not — not yet, that is.” The process of recovering from a stroke was surprising for McEwen. “It has taken longer than I thought it would. I thought it would be like any other injury. But what I thought would take days or weeks has turned out to take months.” McEwen has made inspiring progress during his rehabilitation, which he credits to the support of his friends and family and his desire to get back on television. In less than a year, McEwen has regained his movement, improved his speech and become fully independent. That independence includes being able to drive a car again, a stick shift no less. As McEwen put it, “It's hard for me to use my right hand, but no pain, no gain.” During his time at CBS, McEwen served in a variety of high profile positions, handling the weather and interviewing such prominent people as former presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Gerald Ford, as well as many famous actors, directors and musicians. “People come to my home and see the pictures I have with all these celebrities and they say I have had a blessed life. I tell them I have a blessed life,” said McEwen. “Life can turn on a dime, nothing bad ever happened to me. I'm happy we live in a country that wants you to come back.” A constant optimist, McEwen believes having a stroke has given him a new mission in life. He is determined to prevent others from having a stroke and be an inspiration to stroke survivors everywhere. “This illness does not discriminate between old, young, male, female, black or white,” said McEwen. “Similar to when we had twins, I find people popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm and you see people touched by stroke are everywhere. This is now my calling. It wasn't before, but it is now. If I can send a message of hope, well, that's why I'm here.” “It's easy to say 'my life is over.' It's harder to come back. If I can do it, other stroke survivors can as well. Don't give up, don't ever give up, it will get easier. I'm different now than I used to be, but I'm better than I was when I started.” Mark continues to make progress at his Orlando home with Denise, their twin boys Miles and Griffin, who just turned three, step-daughter Jenna and regular visits from Mark's oldest daughter Maya who lives in New York City. Since his stroke McEwen has found a much deeper appreciation for the important things in life. “It took me a long time to fully realize just how important family and friends are.” And Mark's message to other stroke survivors and their families: “Hang in there, what you are doing is very hard work.”   Stroke Smart Home | Subscribe to Stroke Smart