On October 26th the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association will be hosting the 2013 Puget Sound Heart & Stroke Walk in Seattle.
On average, someone in the U.S. experiences a stroke every 40 seconds. Stroke can be a devastating disease, leaving many survivors with significant disabilities and leaving a permanent footprint on the lives of loved ones.
The Puget Sound Heart & Stroke Walk gives us the opportunity to honor the survivors in our lives or the loved ones we have lost as we continue the fight to prevent stroke and improve stroke treatments.
I will be walking in honor of my great-grandmother, who lived with my family when I was a child. Grandma was a lively spirit who loved teaching. My brothers and I spent hours learning how to knit and crochet by her side, listening to stories about our family. She experienced two strokes during the time she lived with us, affecting her language and cognitive abilities. I will always remember the events. We found her pouring apple juice into her cereal the morning of her first stroke, acting confused and having difficulty speaking. During her second stroke we thought she had suddenly developed the ability to speak Norwegian – and she kept calling my dad ‘kettle’! As a 9 year old, this was confusing and scary.
I encourage you to support the efforts of myself and my team in raising awareness and funds for stroke awareness, prevention and research.
