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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to SOS Stories of Survivors. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>your host, Serrina Dansker, and today's episode is about awakening.

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<v Speaker 1>My guest today is here to talk about the moment

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<v Speaker 1>when life as you know it disappears and when you're

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<v Speaker 1>left with the question, who am I now? Maria Garcia

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<v Speaker 1>was just twenty five years old when a massive stroke

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<v Speaker 1>left her locked inside her own body. She was unable

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<v Speaker 1>to move or speak, and what followed were years of frustration, grief,

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<v Speaker 1>but grit and determination as well, and a rebirth of

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<v Speaker 1>her spirit. Through her platform. Genuinely, Maria, she now helps

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<v Speaker 1>others reclaim their lives, their health, not just in body,

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<v Speaker 1>but in heart and in soul. Maria, welcome to the show.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm so deeply honored to have you here.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you for yon pleasure.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh, Well this is such an amazing story.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you take us back to the time when you

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<v Speaker 1>first realize that something was wrong, something was happening in

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<v Speaker 1>your body.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I was talking to a boyfriend on the phone,

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<v Speaker 2>sitting out my bed, and all of a sudden I

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<v Speaker 2>start to say things like the red ocean is underneath

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<v Speaker 2>the get to the table, and I'm like what what

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<v Speaker 2>does that even mean? Because I watched myself say it

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<v Speaker 2>if I was the third person wow outside of my body,

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<v Speaker 2>and I was like that, I don't know what that was.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I said something else that made no sense,

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<v Speaker 2>and then suddenly I was able to get out. I

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<v Speaker 2>used to go, I need to go, and I hung

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<v Speaker 2>up on the phone. And as soon as I hung up,

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<v Speaker 2>I got the worst headache I've ever had in my life.

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<v Speaker 2>It was like somebody went bam with a metal pan

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<v Speaker 2>on my head.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>And I fell into my bed, no position, And then

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<v Speaker 2>I knew some things up now.

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<v Speaker 1>Was there were there any signs before this happened? Like,

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<v Speaker 1>were there any things that led up to that first

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<v Speaker 1>moment that you can recall?

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<v Speaker 2>Or if I really think about it, probably two or

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<v Speaker 2>three these fire I had a weird feeling like writing

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<v Speaker 2>up my body, and I remember going to the pharmacy

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<v Speaker 2>like in the middle of the night, maybe two or

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<v Speaker 2>three him was that related? I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>So you were only twenty five years old, so young,

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<v Speaker 1>full of plans. How how did you know you feel

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<v Speaker 1>when you were in that fetal position and your body

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't responding anymore?

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<v Speaker 2>Well? To be honest, I thought I had food poisoning.

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<v Speaker 2>So because I just at lunch and we had a shrimp,

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<v Speaker 2>so that was my first My first thought, I'm food poisoned.

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<v Speaker 2>I never thought what was happening was that it was

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<v Speaker 2>that a stroke because I didn't even know that word

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<v Speaker 2>it consisted.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, So can you talk about what chance? So you're

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<v Speaker 1>so you're in the fetal position, So what what what

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<v Speaker 1>did you do? Did you go to the hospital with

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<v Speaker 1>the food?

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<v Speaker 2>A friend of mine was in the house and he

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<v Speaker 2>heard the commotion in the room, so he came over,

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<v Speaker 2>saw me lying down in the fetal position, called my mother,

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<v Speaker 2>who was living on the second floor. Oh good, and

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<v Speaker 2>she came down, just said, began to puke. They called

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<v Speaker 2>the ambulance. Ambulance came. They actually came and left because

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<v Speaker 2>they two thought it food poisoning and they didn't think

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<v Speaker 2>of serious.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god, that's such a fail on their part. Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>Well they didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>They wouldn't think somebody my age was capable of having

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<v Speaker 1>a stroke. So what did you do after they left?

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<v Speaker 2>After they left, I got worse and worse, and so

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<v Speaker 2>we ended up going to the hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>Your mom, no, your friend, my friend. Wow. And and

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<v Speaker 1>when you go into the emergency room. They were like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>stomach thang, just sit over there.

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<v Speaker 2>Well I waited probably something like it felt like ten hours,

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<v Speaker 2>but it was probably more like two or three.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you have like did you feel like your your

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<v Speaker 1>jaw slack and your m going Now? I'm like, you

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<v Speaker 1>know how stroke victims normally find they can't control their body.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't really feel it, but I was told that

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<v Speaker 2>my face was drooping and what I felt was vertigo,

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<v Speaker 2>extreme vitigal. I couldn't walk straight and told on to people, Oh.

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<v Speaker 1>My gosh, that's crazy. So once they you were in

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<v Speaker 1>the hospital, they were able to diagnose that you were

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<v Speaker 1>having a stroke.

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<v Speaker 2>And yeah, I had a couple of tests, probably three

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<v Speaker 2>hours there, and finally so many books over and says, oh, miss,

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<v Speaker 2>we think you're a stroke. And I was like, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>so much for food poisoning.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, stroke. I had no idea, You had no

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<v Speaker 1>idea what it was. So what did they do for

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<v Speaker 1>you when you have a stroke? Do they just put

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<v Speaker 1>you in the ICU or you know.

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<v Speaker 2>What happened to me is they transferred me a different hospital,

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<v Speaker 2>one that specialized Wow. And it depends on what type

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<v Speaker 2>of strokeer having. If it's a clot, they can give

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<v Speaker 2>you medication called CPA and then you don't really have

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<v Speaker 2>a side effects or all the stuff that is, I

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<v Speaker 2>don't know, the sexy boys and not being able, so

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<v Speaker 2>all that goes away or it doesn't eff too because

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<v Speaker 2>it busts a clot. Okay, but they didn't know if

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<v Speaker 2>my stroke was a clot or it might mean for

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<v Speaker 2>first because if it's a breakage, it.

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<v Speaker 1>Could kill you. Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>It never gives me.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. So what did what did they prescribe? What do

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<v Speaker 1>they do? They just well nothing.

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<v Speaker 2>I got transferred. There was beefs now on the ground.

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<v Speaker 2>It was Sunday, so there were no doctors or oh

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<v Speaker 2>my gosh. So I was scheduled for surgery the following day.

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<v Speaker 1>So what kind of surgery do they do?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know what it's called. But the procedures entered

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<v Speaker 2>a type of balloon and you're growin and it goes

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<v Speaker 2>up through your brain and to bust the clot.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. So they were able to find out that there

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<v Speaker 1>was a clot in there.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, after many hours.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the time they did that and you've done

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<v Speaker 1>with the surgery, what was it like? You know how

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<v Speaker 1>to describe how you're how you felt afterwards.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, they was considered a medical success, okay, but to

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<v Speaker 2>me it did not feel that way at all because

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<v Speaker 2>when I came out of surgery, I couldn't move, I

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<v Speaker 2>couldn't talk, I couldn't do anything.

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<v Speaker 1>Really, so you were like a prisoner in your body.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh. So how what's that like when you're

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<v Speaker 1>aware but you can't tell people that anything? So how

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<v Speaker 1>did you communicate?

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't for two weeks?

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<v Speaker 1>Could you blank or any of it?

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<v Speaker 2>You could? That's whole the story. So, yeah, I was

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<v Speaker 2>able to blink, but everybody thought I was a nicoma

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<v Speaker 2>or an a vegitative state.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh so they.

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<v Speaker 2>Called my eye movements involuntary.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. So okay, so your your mind is awake, your

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<v Speaker 1>body is still You're trying to let people know, So

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<v Speaker 1>how did you How did you make them aware that no,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not in a vegetative state.

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<v Speaker 2>I was actually a friend of mine over with pictures

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<v Speaker 2>of a trip we took to Brazil and she saw

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<v Speaker 2>me tracking the pictures with my eyes right, and she

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<v Speaker 2>still everybody and they're like, oh no, no, no, no.

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<v Speaker 1>She's not there.

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<v Speaker 2>But then I guess my family said, well, let's tell

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<v Speaker 2>her bank once for yes and toys for no SAP work,

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<v Speaker 2>and of course I did it. Wow.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean sometimes you really, I'm learning more and more

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<v Speaker 1>you have to advocate for yourself because the doctors, as

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<v Speaker 1>educated as they are, they lose sight of the big

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<v Speaker 1>picture a lot of the time. Lottimes, you know, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's and it's and it's it's scary really And you

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<v Speaker 1>know what's.

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<v Speaker 2>Really scary is that health is a business, so it

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't you're a number. Really, it's all for profit, and

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<v Speaker 2>the stuff that goes on is just mind boy.

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<v Speaker 1>It is. I mean I was looking at my mom

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<v Speaker 1>just gets noticed that, oh, all the doctors that you

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<v Speaker 1>rely on now are not part of your insurance plan anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>So you need to either change doctors or change insurance plants.

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<v Speaker 1>She's eighty seven years old. Who in the world once

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<v Speaker 1>there's are doing that. I mean, I just I could

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<v Speaker 1>go on and on about insurance and the whole medical field.

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<v Speaker 2>And scared there.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. So during those hospital and we have days when

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<v Speaker 1>you were struggling to be recognized and that you were there,

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<v Speaker 1>what what kept you holding on when giving up might

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<v Speaker 1>have just been easier. What was your Why did you

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<v Speaker 1>just keep trying to get recognized?

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<v Speaker 2>And I think of so in shock. Oh what was happening?

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<v Speaker 2>It was to me was surreal, totally surreal.

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<v Speaker 1>And you're like, what the f right?

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't know what was up or down?

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<v Speaker 1>And just well, that's crazy, you know, that sense of

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<v Speaker 1>being trapped, but yet somehow still reaching toward life. That's

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<v Speaker 1>where your soul is like fighting to survive, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think that you have that inner spirit that

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<v Speaker 1>you were like when your friend came with those pictures

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<v Speaker 1>and you're like tracking and she's like, oh, you're awake,

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<v Speaker 1>guard you and you're like, you're damn right, I am.

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<v Speaker 1>What you're saying with your right that was your soul,

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<v Speaker 1>And they're saying, I'm not ready to go. I'm here

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<v Speaker 1>and don't discount me, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but I'm so desperate and afraid.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course, of course, I mean, this is your

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five year baby. How would you even know you

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<v Speaker 1>never even heard of a stroke before. How to get

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<v Speaker 1>these people to listen to you? But that's when I

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<v Speaker 1>think also God in the universe and our guardian angels

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<v Speaker 1>kind of come in and send your friends or people

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<v Speaker 1>that can help you get to where you need to be.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my god, I can only imagine how painful it

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<v Speaker 1>must have been to relearn everything painful? It's the talk

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<v Speaker 1>about that, but walking, talking, eating? What was the hardest

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<v Speaker 1>part for you? Emotionally too?

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<v Speaker 2>Everything? Wolf was the hardest part was watching what I

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<v Speaker 2>could no longer do. Then I used to be able

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<v Speaker 2>to do, and then there was all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 2>I can't do that. I can't feed myself, I can't talk.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm twenty five and I'm wearing an adult diapers.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh boy, you were living were you're still living on

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<v Speaker 1>your own? No, you weren't able to live on So

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<v Speaker 1>what where did you let you look back with your mom? Or? Wow?

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<v Speaker 1>Did you have to have to have care to come

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<v Speaker 1>in to help changes? Oh oh honey, that's gotta be

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<v Speaker 1>so hard now, So how did you learn to walk

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<v Speaker 1>again and talk? It was just.

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<v Speaker 2>Painstakingly slowly. I lost hope basically when I went home

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<v Speaker 2>after months, because I've been home four months. I want

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<v Speaker 2>to rehab hospital and I thought to myself, well, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>gonna go home and now be totally fine. Because I

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<v Speaker 2>had no old reference for a stroke, I didn't know

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<v Speaker 2>I should have been paralyzed right right. So I figured

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<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna be all patched uff soon and no, it'd

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<v Speaker 2>just be like I'll go back to my normal life.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh that's really thought. And there was no Internet, not

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<v Speaker 1>that you could have googled anything because you couldn't move

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<v Speaker 1>your handswer or done any of that. So wow, that's

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<v Speaker 1>just crazy. So you've said that losing your voice felt

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<v Speaker 1>like losing your identity. I think can you talk about

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<v Speaker 1>how it felt to not be interested or to not

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<v Speaker 1>have your words come or have your words come out

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<v Speaker 1>differently than they did before.

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<v Speaker 2>To be honest, I was so ashamed, really shaped. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>like I brought this out myself or something.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh. But but but that's that's not what happened.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't bring a stroke upon yourself. I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know what causes strokes. I I don't know if

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<v Speaker 1>you've done research and have learned anything about that A

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<v Speaker 1>little bit not to watch, Yeah, I I have. I

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<v Speaker 1>have a friend that I played tennis with, and she

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<v Speaker 1>was a little older than you, she was probably forty,

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<v Speaker 1>and she too suffered a stroke, but not as debilitating

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<v Speaker 1>as yours. She was able to fully recover, probably, I

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<v Speaker 1>mean she still struggles a little bit with some things,

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<v Speaker 1>but for the most part. She plays tennis and she's

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<v Speaker 1>you know, she her voice is good. And she said

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<v Speaker 1>she still doesn't know what caused it. And she said

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<v Speaker 1>to ask you.

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<v Speaker 2>She says, if she knows, it's probably different.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>What I was told that the hospital was that the

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<v Speaker 2>only risk factor was birth control.

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<v Speaker 1>Really, that's interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactually and the inserts.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh that it can question. Yeah, well, they put so

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<v Speaker 1>many things on the inserts. If we read every word, Wow, interesting,

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<v Speaker 1>that's that's really interesting. Could be medication. Hmm. So can

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<v Speaker 1>you talk about you're when you started to speak and

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<v Speaker 1>different words would come out, what you didn't mean to,

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<v Speaker 1>How how you were able to cope with that and

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<v Speaker 1>and and eventually correct that.

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<v Speaker 2>When I began to speak, I was actually not saying

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<v Speaker 2>incorrect words, but my words were I could only speak

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<v Speaker 2>one syllable at a time. Oh, and my voice was

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<v Speaker 2>very ready.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the kind of sexy I do have to tell you, Maria.

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<v Speaker 1>So I, I mean, I've heard you describe, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>about a moment where you were handed a hairbrush. You

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<v Speaker 1>want to talk about that.

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<v Speaker 2>So I was still in rehamp I was living in

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<v Speaker 2>the rehamp I had a gun home yet at the

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<v Speaker 2>very beginning and the first day I went to therapy,

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<v Speaker 2>my therapist gave me a hair brush, and by this

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<v Speaker 2>time I was moving my right arm, and my family

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<v Speaker 2>had brought me my laptop, and I was communicating with

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<v Speaker 2>your the laptop. Oh good, I couldn't talk, so I

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<v Speaker 2>would just with my right hand. Wow, that was so amazing.

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<v Speaker 2>When my brother brought my lips, I was like, Wow,

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<v Speaker 2>this like freedom.

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<v Speaker 1>So that gave you hope.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's that's big.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So yeah, I had a way to communicate. Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>Say, I'm in therapy with the hair brush, and the therapist says,

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<v Speaker 2>just comera, and I thought, right easy, So I got

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<v Speaker 2>them hair burst about here, couldn't even touch my head,

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<v Speaker 2>and all of a sudden, I was like the realization

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<v Speaker 2>hit me of the really long road I had ahead

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<v Speaker 2>of me, and I started willing just I lost.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh, I don't blame you. It's overwhelming. I

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<v Speaker 1>can see it now. I see it with my mom

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<v Speaker 1>as she gets older. I can definitely relate to that

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<v Speaker 1>because it's it can be daunting and you don't know

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<v Speaker 1>you're really in the unknown, and you're at the mercy

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<v Speaker 1>of the doctors, and you have to assume that what

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing is really what you need. It's just it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's crazy. So did you feel like depression?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh? Yeah, I was stuck in that yme stage for

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<v Speaker 2>m probably at least five years.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean when I went home and I went home

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<v Speaker 2>in the wheelchair and diapers, my eyes were crossed, mice

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<v Speaker 2>got crossed. Oh honey, no that I crossed anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>No, I know, but your eyes aress. So now your

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<v Speaker 1>mom looked on the second floor. So did they have

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<v Speaker 1>to build a ramp? And how did they know?

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<v Speaker 2>They they moved down to my apartment.

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<v Speaker 1>So that was and that was the wheelchair accessible? Did

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<v Speaker 1>you have to know?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't even recall. I don't think I was the

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<v Speaker 2>house much. But there are only a few stairs down,

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00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.240
<v Speaker 2>so maybe somebody held on to me while.

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<v Speaker 1>I was on the railing or no carriage, yeah, or

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<v Speaker 1>carried you down maybe wow.

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00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.599
<v Speaker 2>But then the wheelchair didn't fit through any of my doorways,

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<v Speaker 2>so right when I got home. That's funny, gradually using

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<v Speaker 2>a walker at home because I had to.

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<v Speaker 1>I had Well, that's determination, right, It's either sink or swim,

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00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:10.640
<v Speaker 1>and you decided to swim or walk. So you had

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<v Speaker 1>started walking during rehab, so they had gotten.

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<v Speaker 2>You that or or no, not really, I mean they

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<v Speaker 2>had used as standing table. But I was able to walk.

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<v Speaker 1>What role did your family play? I mean in keeping

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<v Speaker 1>that spark alive in you that gave you that fight.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god, there were my lifeline. They really were

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<v Speaker 2>when I went home. I remember my brother came over

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<v Speaker 2>every single day to go to me through workouts. I

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00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.960
<v Speaker 2>couldn't even really work out. Any would make me do

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<v Speaker 2>squats holding on to the rail because I couldn't do

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<v Speaker 2>it otherwise. And we also had a recoming bike, the

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00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.440
<v Speaker 2>kind that you can sit on like a regular chair,

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<v Speaker 2>and so my mom took me to the bike. I

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<v Speaker 2>put my feet on the pedals, my feet went. They

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<v Speaker 2>look verd off. I couldn't even keep my feet on.

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<v Speaker 2>That's how week I was.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>So my mother what did she do? She died that's good,

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00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.559
<v Speaker 2>that's a good mother.

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<v Speaker 1>She tied them to the pedal. And then you had

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<v Speaker 1>to use sheer determination to I didn't they get the

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<v Speaker 1>Oh BlimE.

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<v Speaker 2>They were the ones that were like, you've got to

333
00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:37.160
<v Speaker 2>do this. I was like, I don't like you people. Wow,

334
00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:42.519
<v Speaker 2>time I thought they were like sergeants and I did

335
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<v Speaker 2>it every second it.

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<v Speaker 1>So when you look back, was there a turning point

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<v Speaker 1>or a moment when you stop seeing yourself as broken

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00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:57.519
<v Speaker 1>and started seeing yourself as becoming someone new? Who am

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<v Speaker 1>I now?

340
00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:03.079
<v Speaker 2>So yeah, that came on very slowly. But the beginning

341
00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:07.559
<v Speaker 2>of that was when I could finally walk and I

342
00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.759
<v Speaker 2>wasn't using a cane or anything. I joined the gym,

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<v Speaker 2>and at the gym there was yoga, and I figured

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<v Speaker 2>I might as well because it's stoptable. I don't have

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00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:22.880
<v Speaker 2>to do everything and I'll just do the best I can.

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<v Speaker 2>It was such a powerful mental exercise. I could not

347
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<v Speaker 2>believe it. The black cloud that was over my head

348
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<v Speaker 2>finally lived.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh, I can so relate to that. There's

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00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:43.000
<v Speaker 1>something about yoga. It really is. I mean there is.

351
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<v Speaker 1>When I was in some of the darkest times of

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<v Speaker 1>my life, I went to this yoga class and it

353
00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:54.799
<v Speaker 1>was during COVID, and it was it was crowded, but

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00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.039
<v Speaker 1>yet I have your masks on and you were able

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00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:00.640
<v Speaker 1>to do the yoga. But the instructor, and I've had

356
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.359
<v Speaker 1>him on the show, there was just something about the

357
00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:07.559
<v Speaker 1>meditations he put us through and and just the journey

358
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:13.640
<v Speaker 1>through the poses that was lifting that dark about it

359
00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:16.359
<v Speaker 1>really is. Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>I also had a friend who was going through a

361
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<v Speaker 2>really tough time and they didn't and they were like,

362
00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:27.000
<v Speaker 2>the noise stopped. The boys that was in my ear

363
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<v Speaker 2>all day just stopped.

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<v Speaker 1>And I thought, Mom, there's something to be said about that. Wow.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, so often healing isn't just about returning to

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<v Speaker 1>who we were, but it's about growing into who we

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<v Speaker 1>were meant to be, really and and I think yoga

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<v Speaker 1>helps us find that inner soul that in a spark

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<v Speaker 1>that spirit within you know. Wow. So let's talk about

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<v Speaker 1>how you know, you eventually turned to nutrition and holistic

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<v Speaker 1>healing as you were, I guess, as you were struggling

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<v Speaker 1>to figure out how to recover from the stroke. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>So I did all kinds of things. I I was

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<v Speaker 2>thiring noodles at the all. I did hypermeric oxten therapy.

375
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<v Speaker 2>I did therapy in Germany for six weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>I believe was do you speak German?

377
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<v Speaker 2>Yes?

378
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<v Speaker 1>Oh that's that's that's convenient and you remember now to right.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because I lived in Germany in my twenties. Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>so in my early twenties.

381
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<v Speaker 1>So how how many. How long had been going on before?

382
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<v Speaker 1>Had you been in recovery? I guess, well they were

383
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<v Speaker 1>in rehabilitation before you moved to.

384
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<v Speaker 2>Germany probably something like five years.

385
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:02.400
<v Speaker 1>Wow, five years?

386
00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:05.480
<v Speaker 2>And then I went to Germany for six weeks do

387
00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:06.279
<v Speaker 2>that therapy?

388
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<v Speaker 1>And what what? What did that entail?

389
00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:14.880
<v Speaker 2>It was in the middle of the Black Purst Wow. Yeah,

390
00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:19.640
<v Speaker 2>and it was a really awesome naturopathic center. So they

391
00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:24.160
<v Speaker 2>didn't use medications, and it was I remember doing red

392
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:27.240
<v Speaker 2>light therapy. I remember them making me hike.

393
00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:30.799
<v Speaker 1>They nature, that's that's fine.

394
00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:33.319
<v Speaker 2>I couldn't do it or did it the best I could.

395
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:36.960
<v Speaker 1>But right, wow, Now did you still use a walker

396
00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:38.519
<v Speaker 1>or a cane or anything?

397
00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:40.119
<v Speaker 2>Germany?

398
00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:43.559
<v Speaker 1>Wow? So you had really come a long way in

399
00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:44.480
<v Speaker 1>that five years.

400
00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.200
<v Speaker 2>Well, I had done a lot of stuff. I had

401
00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:49.160
<v Speaker 2>done stems injections.

402
00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:52.599
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, wow. And what was that like?

403
00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:57.559
<v Speaker 2>You know, I was doing so many things at one

404
00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:01.519
<v Speaker 2>time that I don't know what exactly was helping.

405
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.440
<v Speaker 1>That's I could see that.

406
00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:09.720
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think everything little thing helped someone I don't

407
00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:12.559
<v Speaker 2>even know. I was doing well then, Christmith, then I was.

408
00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:16.319
<v Speaker 2>I did all kinds of things, anything that I thought

409
00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:21.240
<v Speaker 2>would give me back any semblance of a normal life.

410
00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.119
<v Speaker 2>I was twenty five. I had to get back to

411
00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:26.400
<v Speaker 2>right and well your life.

412
00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:29.160
<v Speaker 1>And by the time you went to Germany, now you're thirty,

413
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:32.119
<v Speaker 1>so life has looked pretty different for you at that point.

414
00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:34.559
<v Speaker 1>What was what was life looking like for you? Then?

415
00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.079
<v Speaker 1>Would you still have your boyfriend or now we.

416
00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:46.200
<v Speaker 2>Broke up because he was living in London and I

417
00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:47.880
<v Speaker 2>have thirty five four?

418
00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:53.839
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, there's just too much. It was a lot,

419
00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:57.599
<v Speaker 1>and you were working on you and sometimes that's really

420
00:25:57.640 --> 00:26:01.279
<v Speaker 1>what you have to do, right is sometimes you little

421
00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:04.960
<v Speaker 1>the noise go away and you focus on on being

422
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.680
<v Speaker 1>the best version of yourself. So after Germany, then what

423
00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:11.640
<v Speaker 1>did you do? Then?

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<v Speaker 2>What did I do?

425
00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.359
<v Speaker 1>Your voice was returning your.

426
00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:21.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, everything was coming back a little by little. Just

427
00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:25.960
<v Speaker 2>I definitely didn't speak anything like I do today, and

428
00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:31.200
<v Speaker 2>that this only happened fifteen years after the stroke, and

429
00:26:31.240 --> 00:26:33.359
<v Speaker 2>not only when I changed my nutrition.

430
00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:37.079
<v Speaker 1>You're a nutrient, so let's talk it. So you turned

431
00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:41.680
<v Speaker 1>to nutrition and holistic healing, right, and and I guess

432
00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:44.160
<v Speaker 1>what threw you to what you should tell us what

433
00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:45.319
<v Speaker 1>drew you to that path?

434
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:51.319
<v Speaker 2>So I was interested in nutrition already because in the

435
00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:56.680
<v Speaker 2>time since my stroke, I had been macrobatic. Then I

436
00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:02.799
<v Speaker 2>went pescatarian. Then I went regetsarian, just to see what happened. Yeah,

437
00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:07.400
<v Speaker 2>to see if it gave me any games. And I

438
00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:09.319
<v Speaker 2>don't know if it was so many things that once.

439
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:12.519
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. You weren't sure, but but it was

440
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.119
<v Speaker 1>something that that intrigued you.

441
00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:17.079
<v Speaker 2>And I thought, well, I saw an ad for a

442
00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:21.440
<v Speaker 2>program for non nutrition. And this is already fifteen years

443
00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:25.200
<v Speaker 2>after the stroke, and I had already been bought old

444
00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:29.599
<v Speaker 2>for at least five to seven years. I'd stopped covering

445
00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:32.000
<v Speaker 2>at maybe seventy percent.

446
00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:36.599
<v Speaker 1>So at seventy percent, you had balance, you could walk,

447
00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:41.400
<v Speaker 1>you were able to to talk, You had a voice,

448
00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:46.200
<v Speaker 1>not like it is now, but at least you can

449
00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:47.680
<v Speaker 1>hear your own voice again.

450
00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:51.759
<v Speaker 2>Right, I could have just nice, but still like, it's

451
00:27:51.799 --> 00:27:55.079
<v Speaker 2>a lot of things I couldn't do that I used

452
00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:55.359
<v Speaker 2>to do.

453
00:27:56.839 --> 00:28:00.880
<v Speaker 1>So then you started to focus on your newttrition, right,

454
00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:04.400
<v Speaker 1>and how did that transform you?

455
00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:07.559
<v Speaker 2>My God, that gave me my life back.

456
00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:10.839
<v Speaker 1>Was amazing? Talk about that?

457
00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:14.799
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, wow, I could not believe it. Fifteen years after

458
00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:18.640
<v Speaker 2>this stroke, I went through a course on nutrition, and

459
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.400
<v Speaker 2>I thought I would just learn something new.

460
00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.319
<v Speaker 1>Like a college course on nutrition or it.

461
00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:24.119
<v Speaker 2>Wasn't a college course.

462
00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:27.200
<v Speaker 3>That was just it was a different course, just put

463
00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:33.200
<v Speaker 3>it on by somebody online, right, right, And I thought,

464
00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.599
<v Speaker 3>I'm just gonna learn something new.

465
00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:39.680
<v Speaker 2>Sure, I didn't have any other intentions beyond that. And

466
00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:43.200
<v Speaker 2>but what happened was six months from the start of

467
00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:47.160
<v Speaker 2>the program, I had recovered another twenty percent and I

468
00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:50.200
<v Speaker 2>got my life back. I do not believe it.

469
00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:56.759
<v Speaker 1>That's crazy. So the person teaching that course, did they

470
00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:01.200
<v Speaker 1>know about the benefits that nature and has for people

471
00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:03.599
<v Speaker 1>who have gone through strokes or was it just something

472
00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:05.400
<v Speaker 1>you stumbled across.

473
00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:09.119
<v Speaker 2>It was just something I stumbled to grow because they

474
00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:13.279
<v Speaker 2>do not in their marketing say that it improves conditions,

475
00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:16.440
<v Speaker 2>right right, because I think part of the reason they

476
00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:21.200
<v Speaker 2>don't talk about that aspect is because it sounds pretty incredible.

477
00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:24.079
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, I'm sure, and they don't want to be

478
00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.200
<v Speaker 1>liable and say, oh, well it didn't help me when

479
00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:27.599
<v Speaker 1>you when you did that.

480
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:34.720
<v Speaker 2>What it is and everybody can benefits from improved hydration nutrition, yeah,

481
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.880
<v Speaker 2>regardless of what the underlying problem is.

482
00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:44.400
<v Speaker 1>M h. It's true. Water is amazing and just eating

483
00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:48.640
<v Speaker 1>well and so often I'm guilty of it. I don't

484
00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:51.200
<v Speaker 1>drink enough water. Sometimes I don't eat when I'm supposed

485
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:54.799
<v Speaker 1>to eat, I drink. If water was wine, I would

486
00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:59.519
<v Speaker 1>be golden also. But let's talk about you know how

487
00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:03.079
<v Speaker 1>you now coach others through pretty much the same program

488
00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:07.200
<v Speaker 1>that helped you. Right, So what's the most powerful transformation

489
00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:09.279
<v Speaker 1>you've witnessed from one of your clients? Oh?

490
00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:10.599
<v Speaker 2>Wow, I've seen so many.

491
00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:11.799
<v Speaker 1>Pick one.

492
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.720
<v Speaker 2>One of the most powerful ones is this gentleman came

493
00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:20.559
<v Speaker 2>to me on crutches, couldn't walk, he had terrible astatic pain,

494
00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.799
<v Speaker 2>and he was scheduled for an operation. He was an

495
00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:30.480
<v Speaker 2>operation within seven weeks asatica released. He can't do all

496
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:34.599
<v Speaker 2>the classes it's online. He's like March Maria and starts

497
00:30:34.599 --> 00:30:35.480
<v Speaker 2>swarming place.

498
00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:39.319
<v Speaker 1>I was like, oh my god, okay, no crustions.

499
00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.920
<v Speaker 2>Not he cancel his operation. And to me that was

500
00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:46.359
<v Speaker 2>so blieved because I thought, what does food have to

501
00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:50.839
<v Speaker 2>do with SATA? Yeah? To me at that time, I

502
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:53.119
<v Speaker 2>didn't know it had anything to do with it. But

503
00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:56.400
<v Speaker 2>now I know it's foundational because if you're getting in

504
00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:01.200
<v Speaker 2>your nutrition correct, everything else can stack on that. You're like,

505
00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:05.160
<v Speaker 2>your whole life is based on nutrition. I mean, when

506
00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:08.440
<v Speaker 2>we take our pets to the vets, The first thing

507
00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.799
<v Speaker 2>to ask you is what are you feed your pet?

508
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:11.319
<v Speaker 1>Yes?

509
00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.920
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I've never been asked what I meaning?

510
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:18.640
<v Speaker 1>No? No, they they don't ask us. That isn't that interesting?

511
00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:23.359
<v Speaker 1>Don't ask you if you smoke, you drink? Do you

512
00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:26.200
<v Speaker 1>do drugs? Not? Do you we eat cookies and ice

513
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:26.920
<v Speaker 1>cream every day?

514
00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:27.119
<v Speaker 2>No.

515
00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:30.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's amazing.

516
00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:35.319
<v Speaker 2>Because that's the rouquals of pretty much everything.

517
00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:40.279
<v Speaker 1>Wow. So for someone who's listening, who feels stuck, whether

518
00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.759
<v Speaker 1>they're an illness, grief, self doubt, what's the very first

519
00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:48.480
<v Speaker 1>step they can take to begin their process and healing?

520
00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:54.480
<v Speaker 1>What would you say?

521
00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:59.920
<v Speaker 2>So many things, but I would start with hydration one,

522
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:04.359
<v Speaker 2>that's important. And when you get the right stuff in

523
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:09.440
<v Speaker 2>your body, healing happens because your body wants to real.

524
00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:15.920
<v Speaker 1>It's amazing how sometimes healing your body also heals your spirit. Yes,

525
00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:18.759
<v Speaker 1>and that's the real magic in your story, Maria, it

526
00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:22.319
<v Speaker 1>really is. I mean, it's just so beautiful to see

527
00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:26.400
<v Speaker 1>how you've blossomed and you come alive and knowing the

528
00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:31.720
<v Speaker 1>depths of the struggle that you've been through, it just

529
00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:35.559
<v Speaker 1>warms my heart. I mean, you are just amazing, and

530
00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:40.680
<v Speaker 1>I just I know that you're grateful for everything that

531
00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.079
<v Speaker 1>you've achieved, but you've also worked really hard to achieve it.

532
00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:47.599
<v Speaker 2>I did, and am more frustrated me at the time

533
00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:54.000
<v Speaker 2>when I healed so much fifteen years after stroke, I thought, man,

534
00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:57.400
<v Speaker 2>first I was happy, but it's also mad as heck

535
00:32:57.519 --> 00:33:01.079
<v Speaker 2>because I thought I'd have to suffer for fifteen years.

536
00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:03.400
<v Speaker 2>I did if i'd known.

537
00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:09.640
<v Speaker 1>But I know now, amazing, amazing. I know you've said

538
00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:11.680
<v Speaker 1>that you wouldn't take a minute of it back because

539
00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:14.759
<v Speaker 1>it made you who you are today. What gives you

540
00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:17.119
<v Speaker 1>that sense of peace and acceptance now.

541
00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:22.480
<v Speaker 2>No longer in the eye of the storm and I

542
00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:25.200
<v Speaker 2>can look I can look at it and see it

543
00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:29.599
<v Speaker 2>for what it was. That's so powerful, seeing the way

544
00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:31.240
<v Speaker 2>people shored up for me and stuff.

545
00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:36.119
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you have a special relationship with your brothers, so

546
00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:42.079
<v Speaker 1>that's awesome. You've mentioned that this experience has awakened your intuition,

547
00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:45.920
<v Speaker 1>your empathy. How do those gifts show up in your

548
00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:48.000
<v Speaker 1>life with coaching people today?

549
00:33:51.240 --> 00:33:53.839
<v Speaker 2>A lot of times I could hear what they're not saying.

550
00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:58.839
<v Speaker 2>People say things, but that's not what they mean. Yeah,

551
00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:03.200
<v Speaker 2>there's a bing, and so it's easier for me to

552
00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:08.199
<v Speaker 2>see what's really at the root of Yeah, what they're

553
00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:08.639
<v Speaker 2>telling me.

554
00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:12.559
<v Speaker 1>That's that's yeah, it's true. You have to kind of

555
00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:15.440
<v Speaker 1>feel with a lot of people, are they feel like

556
00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:18.920
<v Speaker 1>you did? They feel like like they did something wrong

557
00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:22.679
<v Speaker 1>to bring this on, and and just a lot of

558
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:28.920
<v Speaker 1>self you know, uh, recrimination, I guess, you know, against yourself.

559
00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:32.159
<v Speaker 1>And it couldn't be further from the truth. You know,

560
00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:35.920
<v Speaker 1>you're a victim of circumstances in a lot of situations.

561
00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.039
<v Speaker 1>But it's really up to you to have the fortitude

562
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:39.960
<v Speaker 1>to move forward.

563
00:34:41.559 --> 00:34:45.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and I think that's got to do with childhood

564
00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:46.079
<v Speaker 2>wounding and stuff.

565
00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:51.480
<v Speaker 1>Yes, of course it does. What does living genuinely mean

566
00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:54.159
<v Speaker 1>to you? And how can the rest of us begin

567
00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:55.320
<v Speaker 1>to live that way too?

568
00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:02.519
<v Speaker 2>Being true to yourself. I feel like before the stroke,

569
00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:08.639
<v Speaker 2>I was just I don't know, I would say, a

570
00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:14.320
<v Speaker 2>mask of what everybody else wanted me to be. And

571
00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:17.280
<v Speaker 2>now I just I do what I like a coach,

572
00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:22.400
<v Speaker 2>I say what I have to say. Sometimes you don't like.

573
00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:26.559
<v Speaker 1>It, that's okay. You can be you and it's just

574
00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:29.800
<v Speaker 1>and that's what you always should be. You shouldn't hide

575
00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:34.920
<v Speaker 1>behind any mask because you're beautiful just the way you are.

576
00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:39.760
<v Speaker 1>And I mean, we all have our special superpowers and

577
00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:43.840
<v Speaker 1>our special strengths, and so often we try and and

578
00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:50.719
<v Speaker 1>suppress that. I just I think that you've been through

579
00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:55.239
<v Speaker 1>so much, and what does joy look like for you now?

580
00:35:56.679 --> 00:36:04.079
<v Speaker 2>So different? So if there were not whereas before, I

581
00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:07.159
<v Speaker 2>don't know. I was in my twenties, so I.

582
00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:10.400
<v Speaker 3>Used to like partying a lot, Yeah, sure, And they

583
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:11.960
<v Speaker 3>used to do a lot of drinking.

584
00:36:12.400 --> 00:36:12.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

585
00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:16.079
<v Speaker 2>And that's that's the thing I really do today.

586
00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:18.519
<v Speaker 1>So what do you do for what brings you joy?

587
00:36:18.519 --> 00:36:20.639
<v Speaker 1>Because sometimes you hear people say, oh, well, you know,

588
00:36:20.679 --> 00:36:24.159
<v Speaker 1>you gotta live, you gotta have your wine or beer

589
00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:27.000
<v Speaker 1>or whatever it is that makes people have. But what

590
00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:27.599
<v Speaker 1>brings you.

591
00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:31.280
<v Speaker 2>Joy Being at the beach, Being at the beach and

592
00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:32.719
<v Speaker 2>feeling the sun of my skin.

593
00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:36.880
<v Speaker 1>Just I love that me too, I can. That is

594
00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:40.920
<v Speaker 1>my happy place. I will tell you. I I love

595
00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:45.840
<v Speaker 1>beachcombing and looking for seashells, and I marvel at all

596
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:49.360
<v Speaker 1>these little shells. Some of them are like pulverized, and

597
00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:54.480
<v Speaker 1>yet others are perfect. And it reminds me of kind

598
00:36:54.519 --> 00:36:57.880
<v Speaker 1>of like people. Right you go through the ocean, you

599
00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:00.760
<v Speaker 1>go through all your turmoil and things that you go through,

600
00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:04.639
<v Speaker 1>and some people get pulverized through it, while others come

601
00:37:04.679 --> 00:37:09.440
<v Speaker 1>out and they're shinier and smoother and just more and

602
00:37:09.480 --> 00:37:13.000
<v Speaker 1>it just it's just one of my happy places.

603
00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:18.039
<v Speaker 2>It is really good. And I love hiking. I love traveling.

604
00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:23.000
<v Speaker 2>So it's not like the things I was doing before

605
00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:24.440
<v Speaker 2>the stroke. It's very different now.

606
00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:27.800
<v Speaker 1>So let's talk about that. What's one word to describe

607
00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:35.079
<v Speaker 1>who you were before your stroke? All right, okay, that's cool,

608
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:41.199
<v Speaker 1>that's fair. That's well, it's one hyphenated. And what about

609
00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:43.199
<v Speaker 1>one word to describe who you are today?

610
00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:46.119
<v Speaker 2>Authentic?

611
00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:51.840
<v Speaker 1>Mm hmm, genuine, right, right. How do you have a

612
00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:56.079
<v Speaker 1>quote or a mantra that's carried you through your recovery.

613
00:37:58.840 --> 00:38:02.800
<v Speaker 2>I wouldn't say ever montraally carried me through. However, I

614
00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:06.239
<v Speaker 2>did your quote when I began to coach that I

615
00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:09.320
<v Speaker 2>thought was so cool. It's a quote by Mark Twain

616
00:38:10.239 --> 00:38:13.280
<v Speaker 2>and it goes, the two most important days in your

617
00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:16.519
<v Speaker 2>life are the day you're born and the day you

618
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.360
<v Speaker 2>find out why.

619
00:38:18.119 --> 00:38:22.800
<v Speaker 1>Oh that is beautiful. I don't think i've ever heard that.

620
00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:25.079
<v Speaker 1>That's really I'm gonna remember that that one. The day

621
00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:27.320
<v Speaker 1>you were being the day you found out why it's

622
00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:32.280
<v Speaker 1>your soul's purpose. Right, that's beautiful. What's a song that

623
00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:47.519
<v Speaker 1>feels like your personal anthem. M hm, may something comes on? Yeah,

624
00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:48.159
<v Speaker 1>any song?

625
00:38:49.159 --> 00:38:52.679
<v Speaker 2>What is that song by the Beaches? A little song

626
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:54.559
<v Speaker 2>by the Beatures that I'd love to play a lot.

627
00:38:54.760 --> 00:38:57.840
<v Speaker 1>Really Okay, Oh, there's lots of songs by the Beg's

628
00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:04.320
<v Speaker 1>Stay It Alive. I was just gonna say, don't how

629
00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:12.960
<v Speaker 1>about something you wish people understood about stroke survivors.

630
00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:20.400
<v Speaker 2>Everybody's stroke is so different. Something I wish people had

631
00:39:20.480 --> 00:39:27.639
<v Speaker 2>known before to treat me as when I was acrosssied

632
00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:33.000
<v Speaker 2>in a wheelchair, everybody assumed there was also bef or something.

633
00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:36.199
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they would be.

634
00:39:36.119 --> 00:39:38.480
<v Speaker 2>Like when they spoke to me, they would speak to

635
00:39:38.519 --> 00:39:43.159
<v Speaker 2>me like I was poor, like I was half deaf,

636
00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:45.320
<v Speaker 2>and I was like, you don't have to do that.

637
00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:51.239
<v Speaker 2>Actually fine. In my head, that just looked different.

638
00:39:51.639 --> 00:39:55.000
<v Speaker 1>Oh, you know, it's it's funny that you say that,

639
00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:00.480
<v Speaker 1>because I think people don't know how to talk to

640
00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:03.440
<v Speaker 1>someone in a wheelchair with no matter what they have,

641
00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:06.519
<v Speaker 1>what disability they have, and a lot of times they

642
00:40:07.320 --> 00:40:10.519
<v Speaker 1>almost make them feel invisible. They don't see them. And

643
00:40:10.599 --> 00:40:13.719
<v Speaker 1>I think because of the journey I've been on, one

644
00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:17.079
<v Speaker 1>of the most profound things I've noticed is that I

645
00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:20.760
<v Speaker 1>see people, but more than see them. If I see

646
00:40:20.760 --> 00:40:23.559
<v Speaker 1>someone in a wheelchair, I will go up and compliment

647
00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:27.400
<v Speaker 1>their purple tires on their wheelchair. I would never have

648
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:30.119
<v Speaker 1>done that before, not because I didn't notice it, but

649
00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:32.920
<v Speaker 1>because I felt awkward or I didn't know how to

650
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:37.840
<v Speaker 1>but how to communicate what I was feeling without feeling

651
00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:41.960
<v Speaker 1>inadequate myself. And now I realize that it's not about

652
00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:45.880
<v Speaker 1>my inadequacies. It's about showing up for someone who just

653
00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:49.079
<v Speaker 1>may need to know that I've noticed, I've seen them,

654
00:40:49.480 --> 00:40:54.599
<v Speaker 1>and it can make their day again. And felt, Yeah,

655
00:40:55.159 --> 00:40:57.440
<v Speaker 1>if you could go back to that hospital room, what

656
00:40:57.519 --> 00:40:59.960
<v Speaker 1>would you whisper to your twenty five year old self.

657
00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:10.519
<v Speaker 2>There's a reason for this and it's gonna be okay.

658
00:41:11.079 --> 00:41:14.440
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's so hard to realize that when you're in

659
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:16.119
<v Speaker 1>the moment, isn't it. Well.

660
00:41:16.199 --> 00:41:18.719
<v Speaker 2>The lucky thing for me is because I had no reference,

661
00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:21.039
<v Speaker 2>I did.

662
00:41:22.159 --> 00:41:25.360
<v Speaker 1>That's a good thing. Oh my god, Maria, your story

663
00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:28.880
<v Speaker 1>reminds us that even when the body breaks down, the

664
00:41:28.920 --> 00:41:33.480
<v Speaker 1>spirit knows how to rebuild. You've shown us that healing

665
00:41:33.639 --> 00:41:38.599
<v Speaker 1>isn't just about walking again, it's about speaking, living and

666
00:41:38.639 --> 00:41:42.920
<v Speaker 1>loving again. I'm so grateful that you're showing the world

667
00:41:43.519 --> 00:41:47.960
<v Speaker 1>what genuine courage looks like. Can you tell our audience

668
00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:51.760
<v Speaker 1>how to reach you if they want to learn about

669
00:41:51.760 --> 00:41:52.960
<v Speaker 1>the program that helped you.

670
00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:56.440
<v Speaker 2>So the best place I'm not in a social media

671
00:41:56.559 --> 00:41:59.559
<v Speaker 2>much because I have a bit of a social media allergy.

672
00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:05.320
<v Speaker 2>So the blest pace to find me is at my

673
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:10.119
<v Speaker 2>web page, genuinely Maria, and you can book a discovery call.

674
00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:15.239
<v Speaker 1>Oh not interested in that sounds so genuinely Maria dot

675
00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:20.079
<v Speaker 1>com and that would be awesome. And as always I

676
00:42:20.159 --> 00:42:23.239
<v Speaker 1>usually close with a poem written by my son Scott,

677
00:42:24.440 --> 00:42:27.280
<v Speaker 1>but I've got some exciting news that i want to

678
00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:32.360
<v Speaker 1>share with our audience. I'm I've written a book, and

679
00:42:32.519 --> 00:42:37.760
<v Speaker 1>my book is about my journey. It's about what I've

680
00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:41.920
<v Speaker 1>gone through from losing my son and how I've come

681
00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:45.159
<v Speaker 1>through to the other side. But more than that, it

682
00:42:45.239 --> 00:42:48.719
<v Speaker 1>also tells his story. It encompasses all of his poems,

683
00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:52.760
<v Speaker 1>which we'll give you an insider's view as to what

684
00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:55.519
<v Speaker 1>was going on in his mind or the mind of

685
00:42:55.599 --> 00:42:58.119
<v Speaker 1>a lot of teenagers at the time. He was really

686
00:42:59.119 --> 00:43:05.480
<v Speaker 1>well versed in getting his feelings out through poetry. And

687
00:43:05.519 --> 00:43:08.199
<v Speaker 1>I've also have been their letters that I wrote to

688
00:43:08.519 --> 00:43:12.239
<v Speaker 1>him during my healing process through a narrative healing class

689
00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:17.599
<v Speaker 1>I wrote. And so on November eleventh, I'm going to

690
00:43:17.719 --> 00:43:24.199
<v Speaker 1>announce a special offer to our listeners to purchase my

691
00:43:24.280 --> 00:43:29.599
<v Speaker 1>book before the genuine the general public. Han. It's SOS,

692
00:43:30.199 --> 00:43:34.320
<v Speaker 1>a lesson on love, loss and Revival, and I'm going

693
00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:37.960
<v Speaker 1>to just read the prolog to you guys to give

694
00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:46.039
<v Speaker 1>you a little taste of what you'll find. Sam. Three

695
00:43:46.079 --> 00:43:50.239
<v Speaker 1>booming thuds shattered the silence at one seven am, waking

696
00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:53.159
<v Speaker 1>me from a deep sleep. The sound wasn't the drip

697
00:43:53.159 --> 00:43:55.400
<v Speaker 1>of a faucet or the hum of the fridge, but

698
00:43:55.599 --> 00:44:00.119
<v Speaker 1>fists pounding metal, demanding entry. I ran down the stairs,

699
00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:04.840
<v Speaker 1>my heart pounding, yanked open the door. Two officers stood

700
00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:08.679
<v Speaker 1>framed in our porch light, their hats in hand, faces

701
00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:14.440
<v Speaker 1>full of sadness. Time slowed, the hallway tilted somewhere. Our

702
00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:19.599
<v Speaker 1>dog whimpered. A single sentence fell between us, seven words

703
00:44:19.639 --> 00:44:23.519
<v Speaker 1>that carved my world in half. I reached for the doorframe,

704
00:44:24.039 --> 00:44:29.400
<v Speaker 1>for air, for my son. What you hold, or will

705
00:44:29.400 --> 00:44:31.920
<v Speaker 1>hold in your hands, is the story Scott and I

706
00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:37.159
<v Speaker 1>now tell together. Scott, my beautiful boy forever sixteen, speaks

707
00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:40.280
<v Speaker 1>here through his poems. I speak for the letters I

708
00:44:40.280 --> 00:44:43.679
<v Speaker 1>wrote in the quiet hours, through memories that both ache

709
00:44:43.719 --> 00:44:46.760
<v Speaker 1>and glow, and through the pieces of a life I

710
00:44:46.880 --> 00:44:51.239
<v Speaker 1>had to keep living when his stopped. These pages are

711
00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:55.199
<v Speaker 1>soaked in tears, but they are also stitched with hope.

712
00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:57.440
<v Speaker 1>I offer them as a place where you can set

713
00:44:57.559 --> 00:45:01.760
<v Speaker 1>down your own tears, your own sma, your own tremors,

714
00:45:02.400 --> 00:45:06.199
<v Speaker 1>and feel a little less alone. You'll hear three voices

715
00:45:06.239 --> 00:45:10.079
<v Speaker 1>woven together, my raw memories, the letters I whispered to

716
00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:12.920
<v Speaker 1>Scott in the dark when I couldn't sleep, and his

717
00:45:13.039 --> 00:45:17.039
<v Speaker 1>own words, the poems kept exactly as he wrote them.

718
00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:21.159
<v Speaker 1>Together they form a braid of grief and love, of

719
00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:24.119
<v Speaker 1>loss and resilience, and the bond between a mother and

720
00:45:24.199 --> 00:45:28.320
<v Speaker 1>son that even death couldn't break. Scott died by suicide

721
00:45:28.400 --> 00:45:32.320
<v Speaker 1>just before his seventeenth birthday. His poems or snapshots of

722
00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:37.360
<v Speaker 1>a young heart figuring out the world, unguarded, unpolished, alive.

723
00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:41.760
<v Speaker 1>My letters trace the uneven path having someone who's both

724
00:45:41.800 --> 00:45:45.719
<v Speaker 1>gone and everywhere. I like to believe this book is

725
00:45:45.800 --> 00:45:48.800
<v Speaker 1>proof of something I hold to here, that no matter

726
00:45:48.840 --> 00:45:53.360
<v Speaker 1>how far apart we seem, love finds its way back inside.

727
00:45:53.400 --> 00:45:57.320
<v Speaker 1>You'll find our soaring highs, are shattering lows, and everyday

728
00:45:57.360 --> 00:46:01.400
<v Speaker 1>moments that now shine with extraordinary meaning. I hope our

729
00:46:01.400 --> 00:46:05.400
<v Speaker 1>conversation here reminds you that your light matters, that it

730
00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:09.599
<v Speaker 1>sparks tender, honest talk about mental health, that it nudges

731
00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:13.360
<v Speaker 1>you to hold your people closer. And thank you for

732
00:46:13.480 --> 00:46:17.199
<v Speaker 1>choosing to walk beside us. November eleventh, you can go

733
00:46:17.239 --> 00:46:20.840
<v Speaker 1>to my web page Serena Dansker dot com. I'll be

734
00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:25.000
<v Speaker 1>on Facebook, on Instagram and on TikTok, and I will

735
00:46:25.039 --> 00:46:27.199
<v Speaker 1>be giving you all the ins on how to get

736
00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:30.280
<v Speaker 1>a copy of my book. Thank you so much for

737
00:46:30.400 --> 00:46:34.920
<v Speaker 1>joining us, and Maria, thank you so much for being here,

738
00:46:35.400 --> 00:46:39.639
<v Speaker 1>and to our listeners to SOS stories of survivors. I'm

739
00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:43.719
<v Speaker 1>so grateful for you. And remember, even after the silence,

740
00:46:44.239 --> 00:47:23.480
<v Speaker 1>your voice still matters. I'll see you next week. Sh