One  in  three  US  adults has  at  least  one  risk  factor  for  stroke, such  as  obesity,  smoking, and  high  blood  pressure. In  the  US,  approximately 800,000  people  suffer  each  year  from  a  stroke. What  we  sometimes  fail  to  realize  is that  each  of  those  numbers  has  a  name  behind  it, a  patient  with  a  story  full  of  fear,  adversity,  and  hope. No  matter  the  type,  stroke  recovery  is  never  easy. It  requires  strength,  patience, hope,  and  a  team  surrounding  the  patient, including  psychiatrist,  physical  therapist, occupational  therapist,  and  neurologist. In  the  next  few  minutes, you  will  meet  two  individuals having  stories  of  determination  and recovery  to  remind  those  still fighting  that  recovery  is  possible  and  powerful. My  name  is  Jan  Henderson. I'm  82.  I  am  from  Nebraska  originally. I've  got  four  children, all  girls.  I  love  to  dance. I  like  to  read.  I  like  movies. I  like  to  travel,  and a  lot  of  those  have  been  curtailed  because  of  my  stroke. I  am  a  vacian  retired, every  stroke,  and  we  just  love  Georgia  Now, I  wish  you  here. There  are  two  main  types  of stroke,  ischemic  and  hemorrhagic. Ischemic  strokes  are  caused  by blockage  of  an  artery  or  vein  causing a  lack  of  blood  flow  in  the  brain  and  make up  about  87%  of  all  cases. Hemorrhagic  strokes  are  caused by  bleeding  in  or  around  the  brain. I'm  very  zic  diaphoretic, and  I  could  not  trauma. It  happens  in  my  office  before  patients  started, and  my  drove  me  to. I  was  folding  a  towel  and  it  fell  out  of  my  left  hand. Well,  I  woke  up  a  little  dizzy that  day  and  I  thought  it  was  my  vertigo. And  so  anyway,  I  dropped  the  towel  and my  left  hand  did  not  want  to  pick  it up  and  I  wasn't  getting  better  and my  hand  was  still  doing  that. So  I  got  home  and  got  on  the  Internet And  I  started  looking  at all  the  what  all  the  symptoms  I  was  having  could  be. And  it  said  stroke. Well,  this  was  at  night,  about  midnight. I  called  my  daughter  up  in  the  morning, said  that  can  you  take  me  to  the  hospital? So  she  came  and  got  me and  I  couldn't  get out  of  the  car  because  I  couldn't  even  walk. She  said,  you're  having  a  stroke.  I  said,  Okay. I  didn't  have  anxiety.  I  just  figure. Oh,  well.  This  is  what  it  is,  I  think. No  matter  the  type,  stroke  recovery  is  never  easy. It  requires  strength,  patience, hope,  and  a  team  surrounding  the  patient, including  psychiatrist,  physical  therapist, occupational  therapist,  and  neurologist. Patients  are  overwhelmed  by  medical  jargon, with  some  even  being  bombarded with  what  they  will  no  longer  be  able  to  do. I  have  been  to  rehab  several  times. And  each  time  I  learned  a  little  bit  what  we  is called  F  g  at  Tre  here  and  I  can  do  more. I  can  walk  more  now. I  can  bend  over.  I'm  getting  stronger. My  legs  are  getting  stronger. I  do  not  think  they  understand how  important  to  start  rehab immediately  and  to  keep  it  up  until  they feel  like  they're  at  a  point  they're  feel  safe. They  feel  okay  about  it. For  Dean  and  Mark, the  transition  to  life  after  stroke  would  have looked  different  had  they  not had  the  support  of  their  community, whether  it  was  as  a  caregiver, a  hand  to  hold,  or  a  familiar  smile during  their  darkest  days. Had  it  not  been  for  Mark's  wife or  knowledge  and  connections as  a  physician  or  Dan's family  and  line  dancing  community, their  recovery  would  have  been  much  harder, attesting  to  the  power  of community  in  someone's  hardest  days. They've  been  very,  very  supportive. My  girls,  my  granddaughter, and  my  son  in  law  have  been  very  lucky. They've  and  my  friends  have  been  very  they  know how  I  am  and  so  they  try  to  help  me  so  I  can do  some  of  the  things  that  I  like  to  do. I  the  hands  were born  and  they're  born  about  me  and  you,  too. You  just  have  to  have  a  supportive  system. I  basically  24  hours  they  take  care  of  it. But  if  I  need  something, I  can  call  any  of  our  kids. Strokes  can  leave  patients  at  a  crossroads between  their  plans  for  the  future  and  their  new  reality. This  crossroads  is  better  known sociologically  as  biographical  disruption. I  was  very  active  before. And  now  I'm  not.  And  I  like  to  dance. Like  I  told  you,  I  can't  dance  anymore. I  can't  keep  my  balance. And  I'm  missing  that  and  the  traveling. I've  got  friends  that  take  trips  and  I  can't  go  because  I can't  walk  that  far and  that  and  I  don't  want  to  ruin  their  trip. And  just  I  can't  do  things  at  home, you  know,  that  I've  always  done, and  this  has  changed  and  I  don't  like  it. Depending  on  the  road  they  take, they  will  either  experience  biographical  flow, biographical  fracture,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two. I  had  to  teach  to  right  with  my  left  hand  my  right is  we  and  injury and  my  hobby  for  f  history  as  I  cannot  do  that. What  these  patients  need, nearly  as  much  as  medical  support, is  to  be  comforted  and  reassured  that  they  survived, and  there  is  life  after  stroke. Dianne  hopes  to  end  this  year  doing  one of  her  favorite  things  line  dancing, while  Mark's  goal  is  to  learn  to  walk  better. Life  after  a  stroke  is  not  just  a  series  of  challenges, but  a  chance  to  set  new  goals, experience  new  connections,  and  make  new  memories. This  documentary  is  a  tribute  to  every  stroke survivor  fighting  to  continue to  live  life  to  the  fullest.