The “Life” Effect
In 2020, during a round of golf, I dissected my vertebral artery and suffered a severe stroke. After life saving surgery, I had a year of intense physical, occupational and speech therapy. I was then discharged from those therapies as they had done all they could in rehabilitating my body. I was left with little right side feeling and strength.
As a 41 year old active mother of three children, this new body was unacceptable to me. I needed the strength, stamina and agility to continue to raise my children and be an active part in their lives.
Mentally, I missed the endorphins I got from running, golfing and any other sport my kids wanted to play with me. Deemed lucky to be alive, the hospital that provided rehab was over. Yet I wasn’t satisfied in my recovery nor did I know how to completely navigate life in this new body.
I had severe standing balance issues, debilitating fatigue and my right side now had zero strength while my left side was normal.
I started working with Jon year 2 in my recovery. He tailored all my workouts to my goals and to the state my body was in at that time. Each year, my rehab doctor and I would set a physical challenge/goal to meet by my stroke-iversary and Jon tailored my workouts towards accomplishing those goals.
I was told I’d never run again and I ran a 5k one year, I got back to swinging a golf club another year, and the past two years I’ve been working on relearning how to swim so that I can swim laps for endorphins since running was too hard on my new body.
All these goals are so challenging when you don’t feel and (often time) can’t control literally one half of your body. I can’t grip things in my right hand , so Jon and I have found various wraps and tools that allow me to lift weights, bars and golf clubs. Jon takes my goals and works with me closely to determine what and how my body will complete the task and it fluctuates regularly.
One day my body can do an exercise and the next day it can’t, so Jon is constantly adapting and thinking outside the box to get the results I want. There has been a lot of swears, sweat and tears on my part but I know for a fact I would not have had the success I’ve had in my recovery without Jon and we aren’t finished! Five years out and I’m still not satisfied!