My Story
“This stroke will not break me” … this is the mantra that I repeated each step of the way as I trained to run my first marathon, the TCS New York City Marathon on November 1st, 2015.
Until November 1st, 2014, I was busy being a supermom, running my own branding / communications agency, Modern Global Communications, which specializes in professional athletes such as tennis sensation, Maria Sharapova and NFL Quarterbacks, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick.
After a business trip, I traveled to the Berkshire Mountains for a wedding. The morning of the wedding, I felt great. I ran 8 miles and danced the night away at the reception. My husband, Mark pulled me off the dance floor at 4 am. Upon returning to my room, I was crawling into bed and experienced a strange feeling like I was about to sneeze. Then, everything went black.
My husband sprang into action and immediately got medical help. After a CAT scan, the medical team advised my husband that due to the massive size of the stroke, I would either 1) be in a permanent vegetable state, 2) would never be able to have feeling in the left side of my body, or 3) experience a miracle.
The medical team at the Berkshires administered TPA upon my arrival to the ER. The challenge was to wait and see how much swelling would happen in my brain. There wasn’t a neurosurgeon on call so my husband and the medical team had to wait to see what the next step would be.
Unfortunately, I seized and had to be intubated and placed in a medically induced coma. My family was asked to come the hospital for what were believed to be my last days.
I was medevaced to Yale – New Haven Hospital, which was not only closer to home, but was also a facility that specialized in neurology. I woke up in the Neurology ER at Yale - New Haven Hospital.
My road to recovery was long. I experience complete left-side neglect. I had no feeling in my arm and my face was droopy. My speech was slurred. I slowly began to work on physical therapy to work back to regular speech, and facial strengthening exercises to work on the droop. I had to learn how to be patient. I was used to being supermom and jet-setting around the world for work. During my recovery, I slept most of the day. In fact, I slept more in the first few months of recovery than I did in the first five years of my career.
After months of physical therapy and recovery, I was exhausted. I didn’t have enough energy to walk to the end of my driveway. My son Colin was still having a hard time adjusting to the traumatic experience of the stroke. One day he said to me, “Mom, when will you start to run again?” At that time, I was barely able to get out of bed, brush my teeth, or stay awake for more than a few hours.
I began to walk Colin to school, and then I began to slowly jog. A fire had been lit.
Running the New York City Marathon has always been on my bucket list. I’ve made excuses for years as to why I could not run it.
I know what being terrified feels like, but this stroke will not define me or break me.
On Sunday, November 1, 2015, exactly one year after my stroke, I crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon. I ran with no feeling in my left arm, but truly feel that if I can inspire a fellow stroke champion to keep believing in their recovery and keep going in their physical therapy, positivity and patience…. they, too, will get there.
Each mile and each step of the marathon was a part of my story.