Well, it’s World Stroke Day (http://www.worldstrokecampaign.org/) so a great day to post.  As they say on their site—”Stroke affects everyone – we all have a reason to prevent it.” Personally, I want to help raise awareness about and prevent stroke so fewer people have to lose their speech, abilities, and identity.

This past Thursday, I enjoyed an inspiring Pacific Stroke Association event called “Strike a Chord for Stroke.”  In addition to celebrating and raising funds for the great work of PSA, an organization that hopes to reduce stroke through education and help survivors and their loved ones through life after stroke (http://pacificstrokeassociation.org/), we enjoyed a wonderful presentation from Dr. Ralph Greenspan and his wife Dani Grady (pictured below).  Not only is Dr. Greenspan a leading brain scientist and currently the Director of the Center for Brain Activity Mapping at the Kavil Institute for Brain and Mind at UCSD, he himself is the survivor of a severe stroke less than two years ago.

He and Dani, a nationally recognized patient advocate, shared their inspiring personal story, including challenges with the medical system and plans for advocacy to help improve the landscape for both current and future survivors.

It’s great to know that someone on the cutting edge of brain research has the personal experience to bring that expertise to where it really matters.  I hope I can in some way be supportive of their work.

It is great that there are so many survivors and organizations out there raising awareness about stroke and helping to hopefully decrease the incidence of stroke in the future. I hope everyone is enjoying a great day wherever you are on this World Stroke Day.

Debra