Help Laurie raise money

I run for Tedy’s Team for many reasons, but the reason I began this journey was in memory of my mother-in-law, Ruth Curran and my mom, Phyllis Ashton (a stroke survivor). Since becoming a part of Tedy’s Team I have added so many more “whys” and it has become a mission of mine to spread awareness and educate as many people as I can along the way.

When I first learned about Tedy’s Team in 2018 I immediately knew that I had to become a part of this team to help raise money for such a great cause, while also helping to spread awareness which is so important.

My first experience with stroke was in 2005. My mother-in-law had been taking care of my children (ages 8, 7 and 5) on a very snowy day. They had no school and were spending the day with their grandmother.  She loved watching them and had all kinds of crafts and stuff planned for them to do that day.  I arrived at her house at 3:00pm to pick up the kids after work.  When I arrived, she was in bed.  The kids mentioned that she had a bad headache, so she was lying down. I had gone in to check on her to see if she needed anything, as that was very unusual for her to be in bed while the kids were there, and she said that she was okay but had a very bad migraine. After she had assured me that she was okay and did not need anything, I gathered the kids up and went home.

Soon after I had gotten home with the kids, my husband who had been at work, called me to say that he had just called his mother and that she did not sound right to him and asked if I could go over and check on her. When I arrived back at the house, she was still been in bed with the lights off. When I asked her if she was okay and if she needed anything, she said she was fine but still had a very bad migraine.

It was not until later that evening when we realized that something was not right, and she was then rushed to the hospital. She had two blocked carotid arteries which had caused her to have a stroke. Although they had done everything that they could, she unfortunately passed away due to complications from the stroke.

To this day, I can’t help but think only if I had called an ambulance sooner that maybe things would have been different. It is something that I think about all the time – “only if I knew the warning signs”, “why didn’t I call for help sooner”, “why did I not investigate and ask more questions”, etc.  It will haunt me forever.

I think of Ruthie often and on all of my runs and how she was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother and most of all the best mother-in-law.  She will live in our hearts forever.

When my mom suffered her stroke, she had been at home after recovering from surgery.  She had some surgery to unblock her carotid artery and was at home when she started to get a very bad headache. We recognized the warning signs and immediately rushed her back to the hospital and as it turns out she had suffered a stroke but because we acted quickly and got her right to the hospital, she was able to make a full recovery.

Finding Tedy’s Team was such a blessing for me.  It has helped me in more ways than I can even begin to put into words.  Being a part Tedy’s Team this past year I have met some of the nicest people who I am proud to call my teammates, friends and family.  They continue to inspire me day after day with their very own comeback journeys, continued positivity, and just always being there for you for support, advice or whatever it is that you need.

I know that I cannot change the past and what happened to my mother-in-law but being a part of Tedy’s Team and continuing to spread awareness of stroke and heart disease so everyone will know the signs, raising money to help support the fight against stroke and heart disease and helping survivors on their comeback journey has been extremely gratifying for me.