Ignoring stroke symptoms almost killed me!
Stroke. It wasn’t something I ever thought about as a young, healthy woman. In my mind, stroke was associated with old age and men. That was my first mistake.
My second mistake was shaking off stroke symptoms because I thought it couldn’t happen to me. I had the worst headache of my life, but I convinced myself I was just tired and stressed from a busy holiday season at work and home. When I slurred my speech twice in a meeting at work and my vision got blurry, I paused for a few minutes but kept charging ahead because I thought my symptoms were a side effect of pounding headache.
Many times when I share my story, the first thing people say to me is “You don’t look like someone who could have a stroke. I thought mostly older men had strokes.” Think again. Stroke affects everyone from babies and teens to young adults and women of all ages. I never thought stroke was something that could happen to me. Why? I’m a young woman, I eat healthy and I exercise. Too many people, including me, seek help long after they believe they’ve had a stroke. This mistake increases the odds of serious complications or death.
I'm riding in this CycleNation event to change people’s perception of stroke and raise money for life-saving research. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for research. Thank you for supporting me and helping stop the cycle of stroke.