Help Steve raise money

On October 12th, 2016 I had a stroke while sitting in my office.  I recall having a mild headache and feeling light headed which rapidly swirled into dizziness.  Eventually I fell off my seat and fell to the floor.  You would think that I would immediately realize that there was something seriously wrong but I was so out of it I just thought "Oh this is comfortable I think I'll take a nap".  I drifted in and out of consciousness going back and forth between "just sleep" and "get help!".  Fortunately for me the "get help!" side won.

I struggled mightily to get back up to my seat to call my wife Marie.  I reached for the phone only to realize I was too confused to remember how to use it.  Somehow I did manage to get in touch with her and she immediately recognized that I needed help and called 911.

Fortunately for me I ended up in a hospital that had specialties in stroke and they recognized that I had had a stroke before seeing the results of the CT scan.   I say this is fortunate because I've heard so many stories of people having a stroke and going to the hospital only to be misdiagnosed and discharged.

In the early days after my stroke I couldn't walk without assistance.  I couldn't read and I couldn't talk without fumbling over my words and slurring mys speech.  I spent a month as an in-patient in the hospital and several more months as an out-patient undergoing physical, occupational and speech and language therapies.  I was highly motivated to get better.  If you didn't know I had a stroke you would have thought I was drunk by the way I walked and talked and that would not be the sort of image that would lead to trust and confidence of my coworkers. I had to overcome these issues to get back to work and continue to provide for my family.

In the end I was able overcome all of those deficits and get back to work and all other aspects of my life.  While I was in the hospital Marie gave me a copy of Tedy Brushi's book "Never Give Up"; partly to motivate me and partly for therapy.  My speech therapist suggested that I read aloud and over-enunciate my words so I read the book aloud while alone in my room.  When I got back to work a co-worker suggested that I join Tedy's Team.  I was never much of a runner but I didn't hesitate to join  because I wanted to be a part of this great organization that does so much for stroke research and stroke survivors.

My healthcare providers never did find a reason for my stroke.  Along my journey I learned that strokes can happen to prenatal infants, couch potatoes, professional athletes and the elderly.  I think that covers pretty much everyone so we can all benefit by the work that Tedy's Team is doing.

Please consider becoming part of the team by making a small donation to my campaign.