ROANOKE, Va. — On March 18, 1991, my life changed. I was an 18-year-old student at a community college in southwestern Virginia, working out at the gym, when I got a headache. A thunderous pain shot through my head and I thought, “I am going to die now.”
One month later, I woke up. Two brain surgeries lasting a total of 22 hours repaired the ruptured blood vessels that had caused a massive stroke. Luckily, I had health insurance through my part-time job. After years of rehabilitation, I fought my way back into college — earning a master's degree — and into the workplace.
