Mary Peterson, 33, had a stroke last year.
Shes now detailing her experience onTikTok.
Heres her story, as told to writer Julia Ries.
On December 11, 2023, I woke up with what felt like theflu.
After work, I was achy and had a mildheadache.
I took a bubble bath, and when I got out, I felt extremely overheated.
I figured I took too hot of a bath and it made my fever spike.
I got into bed to watch reels on TikTok around 9 p.m.
I was lying on my right side when I got an intense ringing in my right ear.
I flipped over to my other sideI thought maybe that would make it go awaybut it persisted.
My right arm and leg startedconvulsing, which lasted for a few minutes.
Then my vision went outI couldnt really see anything out of either eye.
I quickly lost all feeling along the right side of my body.
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I tried to call 911 but was unable toI couldnt see or use my right hand to dial.
For whatever reason, I didnt even think about using my left hand.
I ended up saying call mom to Siri.
The phone rang and my mom, who lives in Northern California, picked up.
I dont remember this, but she says she could barely make out what I was saying.
Apparently, I was slurring, Something happened, something happened.
Coincidentally, about a week before, my dad asked for Danas phone numberjust in caseof an emergency.
My parents got a hold of her and she immediately came over to my apartment.
She helped walk me to her car and drove me to theemergency room.
At the ER, I had my vitals taken, which were normal.
The nurses pressed on my hands and legs to see which limbs were giving me trouble.
I was transported to another part of the hospital, where I was given an IV.
(I dont remember of what, or how long it was administered.)
It was like I was watching myself from above.
(I wassoout of it.)
Stroke was not on my mind at all.
I had an EKG and did X-rays and a bunch of blood work.
While all this was happening, I still felt so sickI had a bad fever and the chills.
My headache was also getting worse.
I hadnt regained feeling in the right side of my body, but it was slightly improving.
I called my friend Ashley, who lives in New York City, and told her what I experienced.
I got really emotional, and felt so scared and alone.
She hopped in her car and started driving up to Providence to be with me.
Around 10 a.m. a new doctor came in.
I called my mom to listen in because I knew I wouldnt be able to remember everything.
To them, all of my test results appeared relatively normal.
But this new doctor said something wasnt adding up.
He asked if Id recently experienced any head trauma.
That felt like a really long time to me, but its standard protocol for monitoring stroke survivors.
I was discharged, and Ashley arrived about an hour later.
Im glad she did, because the next few weeks were rough.
I was so upset: I was accustomed to living independently and found it so difficult to accept help.
I definitely pushed myself too hard too soon.
I was exhausted and felt like, no matter what, I could not get enough sleep.
And I didnt have full feeling back in the right side of my body.
I began to feel reallydepressedand terrified.
There was so much I didnt understand about what happened.
I spent three weeks not working, resting, and trying to function again.
But I didnt have a choice: I didnt have any money or anything to fall back on.
I had my first follow-up appointment in February of 2024.
My neurologist told me that if the feeling didnt come back in six months, it probably never would.
I had another MRI on March 28 that confirmed that I had a stroke.
I get tired really easily and have trouble remembering things.
I often forget words that Im sure I know, and I have to writeeverythingdown so I dont forget.
Its hard to pick things up off the floor.
Little tasks feel incredibly frustrating.
I have a go at take a handful of little breaks to cope with the pain.
The one gift of this experience is that it completely shifted my perspective.
Before my stroke, I let work stress me out so much.
I constantly worried about going above and beyond to do the best possible job I could.
I venture to be fully present in my life so I can enjoy it.
The emails can wait.
