From Stroke Survivor to Author

In January 2003, at age 29, Lori V. suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by an undetected birth defect. After an emergency brain surgery to stop the bleed, she was in a drug induced coma for 17 days and when she awoke, she then realized she was paralyzed on the left side. After two months in the hospital and a second eleven-hour brain surgery to remove the malformation, she finally ended up going home but this time in a wheelchair.

Lori was led to SWAN from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) when her Minnesota therapists knew she was relocating to Arizona. At this time Dr. Kay Wing was in the process of starting SWAN Rehab, and Lori conducted her initial eval with Dr. Kay at the Kinetic Muscles business where she was currently operating out of. Lori states she was blessed to be her first patient group in the fall of 2003. Therapy for Lori was a six hour a day, four-week program with lunch, naps, and different occupational and physical therapy sessions each day. When she first met with Dr. Kay, she was transitioning out of a wheelchair for long distances, walking with a cane and an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO), and had virtually no movement in her upper left extremity. Lori says she believed in her and the ability to recover with repetition and hard work from day one.

Lori goes on to say, “I love many things about SWAN, and I consider many of my therapists to be my friends. I loved Dr. Kay’s philosophy that there are always different ways to achieve the same result in an activity. Neuro rehab recovery is based on lots of repetition but when an activity is not working and we as survivors are physically unsuccessful, we can take a dive emotionally quite quickly. Kay had the amazing ability to pivot quickly so I always felt successful.

I appreciated the variety of tools and technology I learned through SWAN over the years and the creative and unconventional perspective from the therapists. Survivors aren’t trying to be stubborn in their therapy, but we often need creative ideas to keep motivated and engaged. For example, one day my physical therapist was working with me on balance and realized my vision might be part of my challenge; because of this PT’s creative insight I was able to get into vision therapy which in turn helped my balance and gait.”

“After twenty years of being on this journey, I am still healing, learning, and recovering. The medical professionals who say you will not get anything back six months post-stroke are wrong. I have found on my own journey it is important to heal physically, emotionally, and mentally, and never give up. We all recover differently so don’t compare yourself and your success to another survivor. Grieve the loss your stroke has caused so you can move forward into a healthy new normal. Life will look different than pre-stroke, but you still can have hope, joy, success, and purpose as a stroke survivor, even with a disability.

I am now a published author and speaker and passionate about encouraging others based on the hope and joy I have found despite the challenges and struggles that come with a disability. I am grateful for any opportunities I must share and connect with others that are on the same road to recovery as I have been. Many survivors just want to feel supported understood, listened to and encouraged.”