Why Fight Stroke Now: The Inception Story

The Journey Begins

Working as a cook at a local country club, Maxine Johnson, my grandmother, put 100 percent into her job but that same level of energy was given to her family as well. She gave all of herself so her family could have a better life. It seemed like she was in the family legacy business. For me, I became a member of her legacy later on in life as one of her many grandchildren. I remember it all. The holidays were those very special times we all surround that long dark wood dinner table and laugh, joke and enjoy all the food she would prepare for us.

We had great times and it gave her great pride to see all of her family in one place. But then, things began to change……

When I was around 9 years old, I remember going to the pharmacy with my grandmother to get blood pressure medicine. At the time I had no idea what that meant, other than it would help keep her calm when she was stressed. At times she didn’t make it to the drugstore or take her pill regularly which, of course, made things worse. But, like I said before, I didn’t know any of these things at the time. All I knew was that I loved my grandmother. She helped raise me and shape my perceptive on my values system. She taught me the sense of caring for people and cultivating a strong work ethic.

It was 1990 by then I was in high school, when my mom and I received the phone call that my grandmother had a stroke. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. We immediately arranged a flight from Jackson, Michigan to Pine Bluff, Arkansas to see her in the hospital. I remember walking in the room. She looked like she had lost about 50 pounds. Her left arm was paralyzed, and she held it close to the side of her body.

After witnessing how the stroke had my grandmother a weaker version of herself, I found out that her irregular blood pressure coupled with her long and stressful workday history, might have been a contributor to this disease. Furthermore, according to the American Stroke Association, African Americans are twice as likely to die from a stroke. My heart just sunk to the ground and tears would not stop falling. I had never known my grandmother to ever miss a day of work, let alone fall sick.

The next five years were not the same for my grandmother. She no longer worked at the country club because she did not have a fully functioning left hand, which was especially heartbreaking because she really enjoyed cooking and baking. Then, on April 23, 1995, she passed away at a young 63 years of age. She would have been 82 years old today, if she did not suffer the effects of a stroke.

When my grandmother had a stroke, it had been the first time I had ever heard about the disease. After she died, I wished I had known more about the signs of stroke, the different medical technologies that were available and the innovative approaches that would have yielded a more favorable recovery.

Read Full Story of Grandmother and Aunt’s Stroke Stories