Stroke changes others' perceptions
By JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM
jabdul-alim@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 9, 2003
It came out of nowhere.
Michael had been in his bedroom doing his daily yoga routine when it struck. It knocked him to the floor.
He reached for the dresser to pull himself up but wound up pulling the dresser drawers down on his body.
When his wife, Linda, arrived home, she didn't know what to think.
She immediately dialed 911.
"They said, 'It looks like he had a stroke,' " she recalled.
The paramedics were right.
Michael, suffered an attack on the right side of his brain that reduced the former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee librarian to a left-hemiplegic.
That day, Dec. 16, 1999, forever changed Michael's life and the lives of his wife and three children.
And the way he is seen.
Based on what they have been through, Michael's family can easily spot other stroke survivors.
They can tell who suffered a stroke based on the person's slowed gait. Or the way the person talks. Or maybe the way the person's fist will be clenched the way Michael's fist is clenched - one of the telltale signs that the person has suffered a stroke.
To put it simply, the stroke that Michael suffered has made his family more aware of what strokes are and the damage they do.
Rasing awareness
Awareness of strokes is what Michael's wife and his daughter, Allegra are trying to raise.
They are also training and raising money to do so. And, in January, Linda and Allegra are going to fly and run to raise awareness of strokes.
Specifically, the two women are going to board an airplane and fly to Hamilton, Bermuda, for the Jan. 18 Bermuda Marathon as part of the "Train To End Stroke" program. They've been in training since the summer, when the American Stroke Association sent Michael a letter about the event.
At first, he thought the American Stroke Association wanted him to participate in the marathon.
"I said, 'Maybe I could walk 13 miles,' " he said. But he entertained the notion for only about two seconds.
The family ultimately realized the letter was directed at them. Linda and Allegra thought about it and concluded they should fly to Bermuda to run in the marathon.
They've been training for the marathon ever since.
Michael would like to return to his job as a librarian. He has a master's degree in library and information science. He also has a master's degree in creative writing.
Fortunately, the stroke didn't take away his ability to communicate and write. Or to learn more about the Oneida language that his ancestors spoke.
Overcame the odds
There was a time, though, when his future didn't look too bright. One neurologist, Linda says, predicted that her husband would be virtually blind and would never walk again.
His vision was blurry for a while. But today Michael can see. As a matter of fact, he finds books at the library faster than the average person.
If you need proof, consider all the library books in his living room that he checked out from a local library.
His family still sends him to the library to find books.
"He's the family librarian," Allegra says.
But even though Michael can still get around and talk and write and find library books, which is about all you could expect from a librarian, no one will hire him, the family complains, even though he has the credentials.
"He's incredibly qualified," Linda says.
Michael counts among his many accomplishments his design of the library at the Indian Community School.
His family says his job hunting goes well until the interview takes place. But once prospective employers meet Michael, rejection letters never fail to follow, Linda says.
That's part of the reason why Linda and Allegra are flying to Bermuda to run a marathon and raise stroke awareness.
They want to see society devote more resources for research on strokes. And they want people to accept Michael and all the other stroke survivors of the world for who they are.
"When strokes happen to people, their lives shouldn't be over," Linda says. "We should still value them."
She wants people to treat her husband the way they would want to be treated if they had suffered a stroke.
The possibility that anyone could suffer is a stroke is very real.
With Michael, for instance, there was no presence of risk factors, such as high blood pressure or old age, or a history of strokes.
"Every 45 seconds," according to the American Stroke Association's Web site, "someone in America has a stroke.
"Every 3.1 minutes," the Web site says, "someone dies of one."
You could meditate on those figures if you want. Or, you could simply come to understand, as Linda says: "You never know when it could happen to you."
Or, as Michael says now that he is among America's stroke survivors: "You realize how fragile and vulnerable you are."
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