I wasn’t supposed to have a stroke.
I was 38 years old, a mom in “perfect” health.
I was under stress, sure, but I was happy, enjoying my crazy, packed days.
It happened about a year ago.
I was excited to celebrate with friends and also to spend some alone-time with my husband.
But as I crawled into bed, I felt that strange sensation you get right before a sneeze.
Then everything went black.
I fell to the floor and couldn’t move the left side of my body.
My husband called 911, and I heard him say that he thought I’d had a stroke.
I heard them radio in to the hospital, heard the wordstrokeagain.
I was in disbelief.
My husband later told me that I’d thrown up after they’d given me the pre-CAT-scan contrast cocktail.
My doctors gave me sedating medication that relaxed me relax me throughSunday and Monday.
To avoid this, they used a strong concentration of salts and sugars to dehydrate me and minimize swelling.
I still have all the notes that I exchanged with my family during that time.
On top of that, I was born with something calledpatent foramen ovale(PFO).
My family and friends decided on the fourth option, and my body eventually followed suit.
My close friend Capucine had decorated my hospital room with words:positivity, hope, love.
My son, Colin, had brought me his favorite stuffed animal.
I spent almost all of November, December and January recovering at our home in Connecticut.
I was no longer jet-setting to meet clientsI was exhausted after just picking up the mail.
I struggled to put my hair in a ponytail, tie my shoes and even zip my jacket.
For someone who’d been so fit and active, these changes were incredibly hard for me to accept.
But I was doing physical therapy and progressing faster than my therapists had anticipated.
I had super-small daily goals that my husband helped me with, like completing facial exercises.
I was focusing on my nutrition like never before and reading more than I ever had in my life.
Colin had been told that his mom might not make it.
I never wanted my son to see me like that again.
I wanted to show him that I was still his strong, resilient mom.
Colin is into rock climbing, so I started going with him and using it as therapy.
I’m planning to do a marathon on November 1, the anniversary of my stroke.
My life is better than ever now, with family vacations and business trips.
The biggest difference has to do with the way I look at things.
I only let positive people into my life now, because I know the power of hope and optimism.
I’m so much more present in my son’s life.
And I don’t sweat the small stuff anymoreat all.
