A Stroke Survivor Story - Michael Johnson
A Stroke Survivor Story - Michael Johnson
Olympian Michael Johnson shares his stroke survivor journey.
Content
0.931 -> (mellow piano music)
4.862 -> (distant crowd cheers)
7.813 -> - I didn't know what was going on.
10.51 -> Yeah, that's life.
11.39 -> You just never know, you
know, what's gonna happen.
14.23 -> And the expectation, if
you'd of asked me before,
16.46 -> I would think, if you're having a stroke,
18.15 -> you'd probably know it
when it's happening.
20.62 -> But you don't.
22.75 -> I stumbled.
23.583 -> I had a lack of coordination
in my left ankle.
26.49 -> And I was feeling some
tingling in my left arm.
28.9 -> So my wife and I discussed it and decided,
32.29 -> let's go to the emergency
room just to be sure
34.62 -> and see what's goin' on.
37.23 -> The first thing they did was a CT scan.
39.12 -> And they mentioned that
it seems like maybe you
42.12 -> had a stroke, but we're not seeing that.
44.81 -> The next step was to undergo an MRI.
47.51 -> When I got out, tried to get off the table
49.525 -> and get to the bed, I
couldn't walk at all.
52.95 -> I couldn't stand.
54.17 -> My first question was,
"Will I be able to recover?"
57.82 -> And the team of doctors said,
58.987 -> "That is the question that everyone has.
61.047 -> "And it's the right
question, but unfortunately,
63.097 -> "there's no specific answer for that."
65.22 -> But when you can't move something,
68.21 -> you wanna know, is this my future?
72.08 -> I was very fortunate there
was no brain injuries.
75.61 -> When the therapist came to my room
77 -> and gets you up with this walker
78.41 -> and ended up walking 200
meters or thereabouts,
81.18 -> which was ironic, given
that I was the fastest man
83.84 -> in the world at that distance, (chuckles)
85.79 -> but it probably took 10 minutes
87.71 -> for me to cover that distance that day.
89.68 -> But I wasn't discouraged
because I was taking instruction
93.08 -> from my therapist the same
way I took instruction
95.55 -> from my coach.
96.383 -> And it's what made me return to my room
98.17 -> and tell my wife, "I'm
confident I'm gonna make
100.047 -> "a full recovery."
(inspiring orchestra music)
102.08 -> I was truly having to
learn how to walk again.
105.84 -> My motivation was phenomenal.
109.99 -> My son is just goin'
off to college actually.
113.01 -> I wanna obviously be around
for him and grandkids
116.148 -> if I'm so lucky to have them.
118.48 -> And I don't want any restrictions.
120.26 -> I wanna get back my quality of life.
122.52 -> This was different.
123.38 -> It was all of a sudden goin' into therapy
125.97 -> and goin' into the gym
everyday, twice a day,
128.4 -> with a real motivation.
130.14 -> Nobody's clapping.
131.21 -> There are no gold medals when I finish
133.46 -> runs on the track or in the weight room.
136.93 -> That took greater motivation
138.4 -> than winning an Olympic
gold medal to be honest.
141.63 -> Now it's more tryin' to make sure
143.41 -> that I take the time to relax,
145.01 -> even if I don't feel like I need to.
147.1 -> Relaxation, for me a lot of
times, was go do a workout,
151.221 -> not just sit down, you know. (chuckles)
154.09 -> And I do that a lot more.
155.3 -> I meditate,
157.82 -> and it's good for me.
160.57 -> Being a stroke survivor
is part of who I am
163.39 -> and always will be.
165.17 -> I'll never know what caused the stroke.
167.78 -> All I can do is do all that I can
169.8 -> to minimize my risk of a
stroke and live my life.
175.646 -> (mellow piano music)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ive2pcGIeVY