Sarah Conaway.

A few days ago I received a lovely message of an inspiring and brave woman from America, who has along with two other Stroke Survivors set up a blog. Sarah got in touch with me to ask me to write a piece about my story for their blog. I was honoured that someone half way across the world knows about me and has asked me to share my story. I asked her would she inspire us by sharing her story. 

Here is her story:

People are in shock when they find out I’m a stroke survivor. Why is that? Maybe because society has this predefined image of the typical stroke survivor. Senior citizen. Chronically ill. Dying. Unable to live independently. That’s not me. That may not be you. 

My name is Sarah Conaway and I live in Omaha, Nebraska. On February 6, 2016 my husband was out of town in North Carolina attending his grandfather’s funeral. Our daughter, who was three at the time, had been up for hours crying of a terrible ear ache. Around 3 AM I took her to the emergency room and as I sat down to fill out the admissions paperwork I suddenly lost feeling on the right side of my body. It was a strange sensation because I knew that part of my body existed, but it was completely numb and I couldn't move it. It wasn’t until noon the next day that the MRI showed I had a stroke. I was in the right place at the right time. My daughter did not have an ear infection and was fine once we arrived at the hospital. If it weren’t for her and divine intervention, I would not be writing this today.

The next three days are a blur with snippets of memory. I remember they had my name spelled wrong on my wristband, I remember the look of fear in my husband’s eyes and the look of desperation on my mother's face. I remember telling the nurse that I had the worst headache I had ever had and then falling back asleep. My mother urged the doctors to do more testing because I was getting worse instead of getting better. She knew something more serious was wrong. Moms know these things. 

An MRI revealed that I’d had a second stroke. This time it was hemorrhagic which accounts for only ten percent of strokes. My brain was bleeding. My husband recants the phone call he received from the doctor while he was at swim lessons with our daughter. He had to make the snap decision to counteract my blood dinners in order to save my life. The lesser of two evils while my brain was filling with blood. A shot of Kcentra would thicken my blood to stop the bleeding. However it would also make me extremely susceptible to more clotting and more strokes. Aren’t blood thinners supposed to prevent strokes? I had been on Coumadin for over ten years because of previous clotting episodes. It just didn’t make sense. I was a sitting duck for two weeks after my strokes because I was off of blood thinners altogether until the bleeding subsided. My neurologist told my family that the area in which I had my brain bleed is very rare and because of where it occurred, someday I would walk into his office and shake his hand. I remember six months later walking into his office and I remember shaking his hand.

rehabbing post stroke was the hardest thing that I have ever done. At 34 years old I was relearning to put one foot in front of the other. Learning how to function with roughly 50% vision. Learning how to talk without stuttering over every. single. word. Learning how to use my right arm when it is completely limp and useless. I spent five weeks inpatient re-learning how to perform activities of daily living that we all take for granted on a daily basis. Opening my eyes, walking, remembering my daughter’s name. My husband still reminds me that I thought our daughter’s name was purple at first. Well at least purple is her favourite colour! 

Two years after my strokes, I am still adjusting to my new normal. I struggle with aphasia, short-term memory loss, dexterity and sensation on my right side. But I’m alive! And I’m thriving. I have no choice in what happened to me but I do have a choice in how it effects my life. 

Over the past few days I have been fortunate enough to connect with stroke survivors from all over the world. Most whom are young. This morning I chatted with a 19 year old from Ireland who is two years post stoke. She and I had our strokes exactly 4 days apart. Our lives were changing at the same time half way across the world. 

Social media gets a lot of bad press in today’s society but it has been an incredible resource for this stroke survivor. Every survivor I’ve met on various social media platforms shares thankfulness for life and hope for the future. They are not bitter. They don’t harbour resentment. They are glad to be alive. They want to encourage others. 

That is why the Stromies joined together. The Stromies are “stroke homies” who met through the American Heart and Stroke Association Nebraska. We want to spread awareness and offer encouragement and hope. No matter where you are in your stroke journey, we want to walk alongside you. You are not alone. Visit our blog at www.stromies.com

The Stromies. Sarah Conaway (left) Tamsen Butler (middle) Angie Jorgensen (right).

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