Commander's Corner - 1st Year of Stroke Survival
Jeff at West LA VA Medical Center, Exercising His Stroke-Weakened Right Hand.
March 21, 2022, was a day that changed my life and started a two-week experience that changed my perspective on The American Legion. I’ve met a lot of people since then and I’m sure many do not know this story.
That morning I was working on the same computer that I’m working on now, placed on the same coffee table, and I was sitting on this same couch. It was just like any other day…until it wasn’t. I noticed that what I was attempting to type on the keyboard, wasn’t being replicated on the screen. Having been a person who has never spent a night in a hospital or taken prescriptions, I just figured that I needed to take a nap. I was certain that this was some form of exhaustion. It was not exhaustion. I was having a stroke.
Then, I got a call from Mary Jo Andretti-Dial at The American Legion National Headquarters in Indianapolis. She had called to ask me to do some PA/Voice work at an IndyCar race booth in Long Beach. We weren’t on the phone long before she noticed that my speech was slow and garbled. She was concerned. She stopped the conversation, got really serious, and communicated that I needed to get to the hospital immediately. Not leaving an invincible-minded Marine Corps veteran to make alternate plans after hanging up, she wanted to know who could take me. I knew that we both knew Jennifer Campbell, my past Post and District Commander, and I knew that she was one of the people that I could count on. She definitely came through.
I texted her to see if she was available because Mary Jo said that I needed to go to the hospital. Yes, the ego didn’t allow direct admission of this reality, in favor of putting it on a 3rd party. Jennifer immediately called me and my slurring had now increased. Like Mary Jo, Jennifer got really serious and said that she was at Runyan Canyon but would be at my place ASAP. She ran down the mountain and arrived to pick me up. At this point, I started to realize that this was serious and I packed some things like my phone charger, and…well I packed my phone charger and some other things that I don’t remember. I wasn’t walking very well, but I got myself downstairs and out to the curb.
We got to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center ER and I stood in line, refusing to sit down. Pride can provide a dangerous strength. I was admitted and things moved quickly, like a medical show and it was freaking me out. My nature is to be in control of situations and I had very little control here. They were sticking me with needles and generally trying to care for my well-being, but I was angry. I wanted to grab people and tell them not to put anything in me without telling me what they were doing. Of course, Jennifer recognized what I couldn’t clearly communicate and stayed with me.
The moment that defined the day for me was when the neurologist sat down and the activity slowed down and she acknowledged that things had been moving very quickly. She asked me a question that many of us take for granted. She asked if I was OK. I don’t think I had ever answered that with anything other than positivity, but I say “no” and started bawling, while trying to hold it back. My life was over. I didn’t think that I could do anything that I had been doing. I needed my voice to do the podcast and to act and to participate in Legion leadership. I needed to walk to do my building manager job. I really wasn’t OK.
I spent a couple of days in a regular bed and then got moved to the rehab floor. Many complain about the VA and I did have some complaints, like not getting an MRI until like a week after incident, but I’m grateful for the VA, and The American Legion for being instrumental in the creation of VA.
After a couple of days of self-pity, the take charge mentality was coming back. Two things affected my behavior. There was a poster that said that I was the quarterback of my healing team. They also told me that what I did could control the reprogramming of my brain. Those things were all that I needed to hear. I took control from there on out. I asked about every pill, test, and decision that was made. I started making videos and writing content, all on my phone because I didn’t bring a laptop. That control and bringing my creativity back elevated my spirits. In addition, the Legion effect started kicking in.
After, I could talk better, the list of Legion visitors really picked up. I had a jungle of flowers in my room and I was spoken to a couple of times for having too many visitors. That camaraderie continues to fuel my why.
How did I get home from the hospital? Unit 43 Auxiliary President Melissa Card. Legion powered arrival. Legion powered arrival. Legion powered fight, all the way through.
A year later and the effects of the stroke are almost non-existent. The realization that I’m not invincible coupled with this newly enhanced mission to serve those who have served, has raised the stakes for me.
My character got me through this. Character, to me, is the foundation of who we are as individuals. Even when I find the perception of my character is under attack, I know what’s really there and it prepares me for what might lie ahead. My character brought those visitors to me. It fueled the ego to get over the self-pity and start working on recovery. Now, it drives me to give back.
Protect your character and ultimately you protect yourself. One year later, this is the life lesson that I offer. Also, don’t try to nap the stroke away.
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· My Article from April at Legion.org: A stroke of realization for Tango Alpha Lima co-host | The American Legion
· VA article on FAST response to a stroke: Fast Response Is Key To Preventing Permanent Disability After Stroke | VA Washington DC Health Care | Veterans Affairs
· Update on the latest Tango Alpha Lima Podcast: (20) SE4-EP151 Tango Alpha Lima: National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation CEO Chris Cassidy - YouTube