Kelsey’s Story: Surviving Stroke

For most people, the onset of stroke symptoms comes out of the blue. But 30-year-old Kelsey Steenwyk of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was prepared for them.

Kelsey had been hospitalized the week before her stroke with headaches, neck pain, and blurry vision. She and her family learned that all four arteries in her neck were dissected; that is, there was a tear in the walls of the arteries. It made the environment ripe for a clot. She even had the stroke warning signs pinned to her fridge: F.A.S.T.

So, on April 5, 2021, when she suddenly went limp on her sofa, she knew she was in crisis.

Kelsey’s mother-in-law, Diane, was at her home taking care of Kelsey’s one-month-old baby son Chase. She called 911 immediately.

“I was on high alert for a stroke actually,” Kelsey said. “So, after we called 911, we called my husband.”

First responders took Kelsey immediately to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, a Level 1 stroke center where a trained stroke care team confirmed she had a clot — in this case, an emergent large vessel occlusion (or ELVO).

“Even though I knew stroke was a possibility for me, I was still thinking, ‘I’m 30 — what’s going on?’” Kelsey said.

Dr. Jenny Tsai, a neurointerventionalist, removed the clot via thrombectomy and saved Kelsey’s life.

“With two young boys at home, I had a lot to live for,” Kelsey said. “They were all I thought about on the way to the hospital. I wanted to see Chase and Brayden grow up.”

With the help of physical therapy and occupational therapy at Holland Hospital — which is incidentally where Kelsey works — she is mostly back to normal.

“It was interesting and enjoyable getting care from my co-workers,” she said. “I was essentially being treated by ‘family,’ and now I have an even deeper appreciation for that incredible team.”

But her road to recovery hasn’t always been easy.

“I remember waking up and thinking ‘Why get up today? I can’t do anything — I can’t be helpful to anyone,’” she said. And even though she is in a much better place today, she said those feelings at the time were valid: You just have to find people who can support you and talk to you, even in the tough times.

Her husband, Dan, is one of those people. Among many things he did in Kelsey’s recovery was take on those newborn nightshifts — not so easy to do with another young son at home.

Today, she is back to work part-time and overall it has been an easy transition. People still ask her about her stroke, particularly why this happened to such a young and healthy person — she doesn’t fit the typical profile.

Her answer? Strokes can happen to anyone. Her advice? Don’t wait a single minute if you suspect a stroke.

“I really can’t imagine what the outcome would have been if I had waited,” she said.