Gau Junnarkar's Story
My mother was 32 years old when she first started recognizing signs that something was wrong with her day-to-day health. She would complain of experiencing vertigo and extreme fatigue on a regular basis. Three seperate physicians, including a cardiologist, dismissed the symptoms as exhaustion. Over the next two years, and countless visits to those physicians, nobody had an answer. Shortly after her 34th birthday, my mother suffered a stroke caused by a larger blood clot which had gone completely undetected. The stroke had caused my mother to lose all mobility on the right side of her body (which was especially painful given that she was right handed), and it took away her speech. Today, at 66 years old, she is self sufficient and able to walk and talk, although both are a significant challenge. At this point, I don't even remember what my mother was like before her stroke, as I was only 6 years old at the time. However, I will always wonder what more could have been done to prevent her stroke in the first place, given her signs.
I chose to get involved with the American Heart Association because I'm hopeful for a day when we have the knowledge and technology to treat potential stroke symptoms correctly. I would be incredibly grateful if you would help me raise funds and awareness for stroke research.
