34岁中风后，她一直致力于康复

在家里工作了一上午之后, 塔尔萨的阿曼达·波特, Oklahoma, 开始准备去超市. It was March 20, 2020, and the world was shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 她需要储备食物和用品.

她走进卧室穿衣服. Just as she went to grab her phone, her right leg felt like it had gone to sleep. 然后是她的右臂和右手. 她试着摇醒他们，但他们就是不动. 她失去平衡，脸朝下摔在床上.

她试着给丈夫艾伦打电话. He was in the next room with their daughters, ages 2 and just shy of 7.

“艾尔，”她咕哝着，说不出他的名字. 她又试了一次.

艾伦第二次听到了她的声音. 当他看到阿曼达时，他试图扶起她. 她又一屁股坐了下来. 她的整个右侧瘫痪了. 她不能说话.

这太糟糕了，他想.

艾伦知道阿曼达需要立即就医. 作为一名参加过战斗的前海军陆战队员，他并不惊慌.

At the emergency room, Amanda's blood pressure measured extremely high: 240/180. 医生认为她中风了. She arrived at the hospital quickly enough to benefit from clot-dissolving medication.

她在医院里过了一夜. 第二天，检查证实她中风了. 她当时34岁.

医生认为她中风的原因是高血压. It was surprising because her only experience with high blood pressure had been associated with giving birth; both times, 它又恢复了正常.

Although she often ate high-sodium fast food, Amanda was generally in great shape. 在高中和大学都是很有竞争力的啦啦队长, she continued to work out in addition to her daughters keeping her active.

中风后的一天内，她的语言基本恢复了. But Amanda, who is left-handed, still couldn't move her right side. 医生希望她留在医院，直到她能走路. Allen insisted on staying by her side, even as the hospital began to enact more pandemic regulations.

几天后, Amanda was transferred from the intensive care unit to an in-patient rehabilitation wing.

Working with physical, occupational and speech therapists, she and Allen set daily goals. 她的第一个大问题是去洗手间.

"Going from being a working mom of two and now your husband has to lift you and help you with a bed pan? 这太丢脸了，”她说. “我精疲力尽，情绪低落."

阿曼达害怕未来, 但她从神经科医生那里得到了力量, 由于她的年龄和整体健康水平，谁是乐观的. 她也受到短信的鼓舞, 她双胞胎妹妹的电话和视频, 其他家庭成员, 同事和朋友.

On her final day of rehab, Amanda walked the length of a football field with a cane. 第二天她就出院了. Family and friends surprised her with a drive-by homecoming parade. It lasted 30 minutes; she cried the entire time.

Once home, Amanda attended outpatient therapy twice a week for six weeks. 在休息日，她和艾伦在家锻炼. By the end, she could walk on a treadmill and use an elliptical trainer.

In late spring, with Allen by her side, Amanda was able to drive. By mid-June, she'd regained most of the movement in her right arm and leg.

Earlier this year, she finished a six-week free rehab program run by students in training. 她又开始自己健身了, she's focused on improving her upper body strength and mobility in her right foot.

"I don't think people on the outside would even notice anything wrong with her, 但每年她都要努力克服新的困难,艾伦说. "I feel like everything she was doing before the stroke she can do now and then some. 我为她所做的感到骄傲."

While Amanda appreciates the fine-tuning she gets from continued physical therapy, 这也给了她更多的自信.

"It's motivating and empowering, and makes me feel safer," she said. “这也是一个支持性的环境."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.