Lauren’s Story: Surviving Stroke

Lauren was at the doctor’s office when her left side went numb and she blacked out.

In November 2015, Lauren, then 39, was at a follow-up doctor’s appointment for pneumonia when she suddenly felt tired. A nurse entered the room to give her a flu shot and found Lauren lying on the examination table, unable to see or move her left side.

Lauren was taken to a hospital in Burlington about 30 miles away, where doctors performed neuroendovascular stroke surgery to remove the clot in her brain. She woke up feeling fine.

Lauren’s recovery process was short; she required minimal rehabilitation, only working with a speech pathologist and physical therapist for a week.

During her experience with stroke, Lauren’s husband, Andrew, and her two young children supported her.

“My family kept me motivated, but I didn’t have significant recovery needs because of the treatment I received,” Lauren said.

Lauren was told that before July 2015, she would not have had access to the life-saving procedure.

“If my stroke had happened earlier, I wouldn’t have had the chance of recovery that I did,” Lauren said.

Today, Lauren is fully recovered.

“It’s amazing to be sitting here. I didn’t think that was possible as somebody who had a stroke,” she said. “The pneumonia was worse for me than my stroke. I’m extremely lucky.”