After 4 strokes, rare disease and brain surgery, a woman helps others

When Lisa Deck was chosen as the national spokesperson for Go Red for Women in 2014, she was thrilled to have a broader platform to help raise awareness about heart disease and stroke.

She had a lot of personal experience from which to draw. She had survived three shots in her twenties and had started while she was in college. The third left her permanently disabled.

After years of grueling and exhausting treatment and, finally, recovery, Deck had settled into a sustainable lifestyle. Although her new normal situation requires a little more rest and she sometimes feels numb on the left, she finds solace in volunteering with the American Heart Association. She saw "trying to turn something negative into positive".

In the midst of her role as a year-old spokesperson, Deck has endured one of those episodes of numbness. She thought it was because she had been particularly busy with volunteer work and her two children, leaving her extremely tired.

But the symptoms persisted longer than usual. As an advocate for the rights of others, Deck decided to follow his own advice and went to the emergency room.

"I think you had a fourth stroke," the doctor told him.

Tests later showed that she had Moyamoya disease, a rare condition caused by blockage of arteries at the base of the brain that could lead to a stroke. Although the disease does not heal, blood circulation can potentially be improved by bypbading the brain.

She discovered that people with Moyamoya's disease formed a close community. They provided insight and, most importantly, comfort. She also found the strength of several thousand of her Facebook subscribers on ISurvivor Lisa Deck.

The lawyer was again the patient.

"We quickly met a neurosurgeon who said that not only did I need surgery, but two, because each side of the brain had to be performed separately," she said.

Deck went to California for treatment at Stanford Moyamoya Center. Each operation lasted about 10 hours.

A week later, the doctors said that the operation was a success. The blood flow in his brain had been multiplied by seven, thus reducing the risk of another stroke.

She also found the sensation in her left side, a surprise for the doctors. The speech problems that appeared after the operation were solved in two months. Back at home, Deck's family treated her and her husband, Brian, "as conquering heroes," he said.

Deck faced another period of physical and emotional recovery, both new and familiar.

"Being ill in my early twenties helped me to understand myself and to understand how I needed to go deeper to overcome difficult situations," she said. "But that time was different because I was a mother, so sometimes it meant that I was sad and terrified, that I was going to cry for 10 minutes in the bathroom and that I was coming next. serve dinner. "

Nearly four years later, Deck no longer had a stroke. She rarely experiences numbness or other problems. Better yet, she overcame her fear of stress and started to train. She organizes cardio and strength training clbades using a monitor to measure her heart rate.

And, true to its nature, Deck remained a lawyer, although she now has an additional cause.

She delivers motivational speeches and lobbies lawmakers. In fact, she was attending a roundtable on patient-centered health care on Tuesday at the Health and Global Policy Institute, a Tokyo-based think tank.

She and two other women from her hometown of North Attleboro, Mbad., Also launched Sisters @ Heart, a nonprofit organization aimed at educating the local community about the problem of stroke.

"They have had tremendous success in the community," said Brian. "I'll be walking around town and people will say, 'Hi Brian', and these are all people I've met through Lisa, she really has an impact."

"What gives me joy is that my story gives people hope," she said. "When you hear four strokes, a rare disease and two brain surgeries," I think most people imagine someone really weak and depressed. The fact that I can share something positive helps people see the possibilities.

---

---

The American Heart Association News covers the health of the heart and brain. All opinions expressed in this story do not reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is the property of the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have any questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].