I’ve been healthy my whole life and have only been hospitalized to have my  two babies.  I’ve never broken a bone or had any significant injury. I was even a high school and college athlete. So,how is it that at the age of 45 and completely healthy, I could have a stroke? I was not diabetic or have high blood pressure as far as I knew, I did not have any cardiovascular concerns, but, to my surprise, I found myself in the ICU after having a stroke while sleeping. Can you believe that? I can’t either. 

Recall-what I remember: Friday, December 13, 2019 was no ordinary day.  I woke up early as usual for a staff development day at work. That day was a big day for me regarding what our building Instructional LeadershipTeam(BILT)would be sharing with staff about racial equity in our school. It was also the day of my friends dads funeral( who I call dad). My plan was to attend the necessary meetings for the day and then head to the funeral. I was not planning to stay for the whole service because I needed to present to staff that afternoon. This was not typical of me to cut out of a funeral for work. This funeral was very important to me. My dear friend‘s father was being buried today. On my way to the funeral I needed to check references for a secretary position I was hiring for, so that is how I emotionally prepared myself for what was to come, tears and all. As the service started to wind down, I took the opportunity to speak about dad and share my memories of him and then step down to head to my car and head back to work. The staff meeting went very well and seemed to be well received by our teams. I felt fulfilled. You see, at this point I was 4 months in to my dream of being a school Principal. I was loving the role and having the opportunity to lead in a way I had never imagined.

• It was a quiet evening at home after work. I don’t even remember what I made for dinner I remember feeling emotionally heavy after the funeral. My husband,George had gone in to put our son(4 year old)to sleep across the hall and I turned in for the night since I had breakfast plans with friends in the morning.Our oldest(23 year old) had gone out with a friend.At some point during the night (actually early morning)I remember getting up to go get something( I don’t know what it was). When I got up, I remember falling and hitting my head on the floor real hard. from there, I was trying to get up and go get whatever it was that I wanted but I couldn’t get up and it felt like I was burrowing myself into the floor. And since I couldn’t get up, I found myself flailing my body against our bedroom door in hopes that George would hear me and come help. After a short amount of time, he came in asking me what happened and I told him I fell and hit my head.  He tried to help me up but I couldn’t move my leg.After a while, he decided to call 911. Although I did not realize what was happening to me, I wanted to tell him not to call( not sure why) once he was on the phone with the dispatcher, I heard him describe what was happening and I remember the woman telling him that it sounded like I had a stroke. When I heard that, I couldn’t believe what she had just said. I heard her tell him that an ambulance was on the way and to make sure they could enter the house right away. At that time, I was laying on the floor. I could hear George open the door to let the EMTs in. As they approached my bedroom door, I started to throw up onto the floor. I was laying on my left side and therefore Laying in my vomit( my friend Jessica would cringe about this). As George approached with the EMTs, he noticed that I was throwing up. One of the EMTs came in and introduced herself as Chelsea. After a series of questions, they proceeded to prepare me for a gurney and to take me out to the ambulance. It was very early Saturday morning(december14th)anand a cold winter morning. As they transported me out of the house, I could feel the cold air on my body( I was only wearing shorts and a tank top for pajamas). I do not remember riding in the ambulance or arriving to the hospital. To think I had a stroke was unimaginable. I was very healthy, took care of myself and was happy. I spent two weeks in a coma after a craniotomy due to my brain swelling as a result of the stroke. in total, I spent 89 days in ICU and rehabilitation(physical therapy, speech and occupational therapy). When I left the hospital, I could barely walk . I was paralyzed on my left side( arm and leg not functioning)and my eye sight was impaired on the left( what they call a left field block).I think it’s fair to say I lost everything and My life would change. This change would require a fight! If you know me, you know I wasn’t going down.this journey made me a survivor and although I hate to say it, it’s been quite a Blessing.weird, huh?