Steve’s Journey: From Stroke To Recovery
Steve’s Journey: From Stroke To Recovery
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Content
1.12 -> when i woke up it was devastation
8.24 -> my name is steve maynard i'm a law
10 -> enforcement officer here in
11.759 -> lachwa county well it was really a
14.08 -> normal day
15.28 -> what i thought was a normal day it was
17.44 -> april 10th
18.56 -> of 2017 i was getting ready for work
22.4 -> i was working specifically in the
24.4 -> training bureau and i was going to
26.64 -> actually shoot that day as a law
29.439 -> enforcement
30 -> officer we train routinely obviously
32.64 -> firearms is one portion of the training
34.96 -> and things took a drastic turn
39.84 -> literally i was on the firing range and
42.719 -> i
43.04 -> got a sensation immediately that
46.079 -> i was getting weak and i felt like that
49.44 -> i was losing
50.559 -> my strength and my strength specifically
52.719 -> on the left side of my body
54.96 -> and when that happened i recognized
57.36 -> pretty quick
58.079 -> that something was was very serious
61.6 -> i was able to re-holster my firearm i
64.879 -> turned away to the trainers and
67.04 -> mentioned to them that something serious
68.96 -> had just happened to me
70.96 -> at that point i lost the ability to talk
74.4 -> my other first responders which i had 30
77.36 -> to 40
78.4 -> first responders with me at that time
80.88 -> they kind of knew what to expect
82.64 -> and they knew that it was likely a
84.84 -> stroke
87.04 -> i was uh what i thought was in perfect
89.84 -> health
90.56 -> i would run half marathons you know i
93.36 -> was on the swat team
94.479 -> at the alachua county sheriff's office
96.479 -> so having a stroke was
98.079 -> was quite a shock
102.079 -> captain maynard's case uh was unique
104.72 -> there's only a handful of cases that you
106.24 -> usually remember your entire career and
108.24 -> his is going to be one of them for me
110.479 -> when he came in he immediately went into
112 -> one of our resuscitation base
114.079 -> you could tell that he could understand
115.52 -> what we were asking him but he could not
117.84 -> form any type of logical response this
121.04 -> part was really concerning to me
122.96 -> along with his agitation and how he
125.2 -> really was was refusing care
127.119 -> which i don't think was his norm and he
129.52 -> was fighting ivs and
130.879 -> and fighting the group and we had to
132.72 -> take control of that situation
134.4 -> and the best way to do that and get that
136.16 -> cat scan which
137.52 -> uh is really the best way to identify a
139.76 -> stroke syndrome
140.8 -> was to sedate him and give him a
142.8 -> breathing tube and put him on the
143.76 -> ventilator
145.76 -> as soon as i arrived at the emergency
147.68 -> room i was escorted
148.879 -> directly to the stroke unit one of the
151.92 -> first decisions that i
153.28 -> needed to make when i arrived at the er
155.68 -> was
156.4 -> to sign off to put my husband in a
158.879 -> medically induced coma
160.959 -> it was a very scary situation but
163.599 -> reflecting back on that time
165.519 -> i'm so very grateful for their
167.28 -> professionalism and the way they
168.8 -> communicated with me and
170.16 -> he took quite a bit of time to show me
172.56 -> and talk to me about the
174.239 -> the results of the ct scans and and
177.28 -> what it looked to be as far as his next
180 -> step for care
182.72 -> steve had an unknown and newly diagnosed
186.8 -> clotting condition called
188.92 -> antiphospholipid antibody syndrome
191.599 -> which causes clots to form really
194.159 -> anywhere in the body
195.68 -> and he had a clot that formed in an
197.92 -> artery inside the brain
199.68 -> and caused his stroke overall he looked
202.72 -> in a pretty
204 -> poor neurological condition
206.26 -> [Music]
208.239 -> when i woke up i wanted to communicate
210.48 -> with my wife i wanted to communicate
212 -> with the doctors i wanted to answer
213.519 -> questions and i
215.44 -> i couldn't i couldn't communicate it was
217.76 -> it was gibberish
219.04 -> that came out of my mouth and i tried to
222.239 -> communicate and write and i couldn't i
224.56 -> couldn't write
225.599 -> the only thing that went on the piece of
227.2 -> paper was literally just
229.12 -> like a line basically it's all that came
231.68 -> out
232.64 -> my ability to communicate in speech was
235.36 -> at a level of
236.319 -> maybe a kindergartner steve had
240 -> what we call is an expressive aphasia he
243.04 -> was able to comprehend
244.879 -> he was able to follow commands but he
247.28 -> was unable to
248.319 -> express himself and allow people to
250.959 -> understand
252 -> what he was thinking and what he needed
255.2 -> well emotionally it was devastation for
257.519 -> me i mean it really was
259.6 -> every stroke patient is going to have
263.12 -> some very degree of
266.16 -> depression the onset could be really
268.4 -> quick um
269.52 -> you know oh my gosh you can't read write
271.44 -> or talk
272.639 -> it's pretty depressing and then over a
275.04 -> period of time you recognize that
277.04 -> this is not going to be like you know
279.12 -> breaking a bone
280.639 -> if you don't have some sort of support
283.84 -> system in place that's where the
285.759 -> depression comes in
287.44 -> for a period of time i didn't didn't
290 -> necessarily
291.68 -> want to be there that's what happens i
293.68 -> think with a stroke patient is you're
295.12 -> not sure whether
296 -> or not you really want to be here and
298.8 -> you want to
299.6 -> you know continue on my identity is as a
303.039 -> law enforcement officer i've done this
304.32 -> for almost 25 years
306 -> i lost my identity
311.039 -> i don't understand now read the word
315.12 -> i i stone
319.199 -> rehab plays such an important role
321.039 -> especially in the beginning
322.32 -> recovery stage when steve came to rehab
325.919 -> and when he first saw
327.28 -> me for speech therapy he had a pretty
330.4 -> severe
331.12 -> aphasia he was unable to read he was
333.68 -> unable to write
334.96 -> so we would practice naming pictures we
337.52 -> would practice
338.08 -> describing photos shallower her toe tail
341.44 -> are taller
342.24 -> these patients are needing intensive
345.36 -> therapy
346.08 -> daily seven days a week in order to
348.639 -> recover from
349.68 -> their stroke daily the doctor at uf
352.56 -> health or doctors at uf health would
354.56 -> show up and they would show me an object
357.6 -> and one of the objects that they showed
359.199 -> me was a paper clip
361.039 -> and i didn't know what it was i could
363.6 -> see it i understood what it was used for
365.84 -> i just couldn't communicate it to you
368.4 -> extreme frustration extreme frustration
371.919 -> on my part
373.84 -> after probably a week maybe two weeks
376.56 -> when they showed me that paper clip
378.479 -> and i was able to say paper
381.759 -> clip paper clip paper clip
385.199 -> it clicked and it clicked and i knew
387.12 -> then that
388.639 -> i could come back and after a week of
390.96 -> frustration and not being able to
392.56 -> communicate i knew i had the ability
394.88 -> to bring it back at that point
398.24 -> i knew my timeline you know i knew that
400.16 -> within a six-month period that you're
401.759 -> going to get most of your gains the
403.199 -> doctors had communicated that to me
405.44 -> okay so i've lost a week
408.479 -> less rock and roll i'm ready steve was
411.199 -> very
411.759 -> fortunate to have brenda as such an
414.16 -> incredible support system
416.08 -> she had past experience of being an
418.96 -> educator and being a teacher
420.639 -> and so now she was using these you know
423.52 -> simplified books
424.8 -> and activities that she was doing with
427.599 -> her students
428.72 -> now she's doing it with her husband i
431.759 -> spent a lot of years teaching students
433.199 -> with autism
434.56 -> and teaching them how to speak and how
437.039 -> to communicate
437.919 -> and so thankfully i was able to use some
441.039 -> of those previous skills that i had
442.88 -> to work with my husband she was an
446.319 -> instrument and of me coming back and i'm
448.88 -> here
449.759 -> the rehab folks at uf health
453.36 -> and my wife literally taught me my
456.56 -> colors
457.52 -> the names of my family and my kids
460.96 -> how to speak again how to interact and
464.08 -> communicate with the rest of the world
466.479 -> they helped me get my identity back
469.52 -> if it weren't for that support system i
471.919 -> don't know that i could have made it
473.52 -> and i hope and i pray for every other
476.24 -> stroke patient that's out there
478.08 -> has that support system he had
481.52 -> incredible support not only from his
483.28 -> family but from his
484.879 -> work family as well the first responders
487.68 -> that were around captain maynard
489.36 -> had a big impact on his prognosis and
491.84 -> their recognition that something was
493.36 -> wrong and getting him to
494.879 -> our uf health and a comprehensive stroke
497.36 -> center impacted his potential disability
500.479 -> there was a stroke team that was was
502.4 -> ready there was a
503.919 -> an army of individuals people that are
506.479 -> professionals
507.84 -> in how to take care of someone that is a
511.36 -> stroke patient
512.719 -> it's not just the doctors on the stroke
515.12 -> team i can tell you that the compassion
517.68 -> that i was given were the nurses with
520.88 -> the speech therapist
522.479 -> who sat down hours and hours and hours
525.6 -> to teach me
526.72 -> to say a single word the compassion
530.64 -> that they gave to me not just me but to
533.6 -> my wife and my family
535.36 -> was instrumental in me being here today
541.04 -> to date i still have that paper clip
544.64 -> that paper clip symbolizes hope
547.68 -> and i had the ability to communicate
550.959 -> back to the rest of the world i'm
553.519 -> communicating with you today
555.12 -> i'm talking with you today i'm here
558.64 -> and i was able to make it and beat it my
561.76 -> name's steve maynard
562.88 -> i'm a survivor of a stroke and
565.92 -> i'm here because of uf health
582 -> you
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bud97RuuruM