Podcasts about Stroke

In this episode, we review key updates from the 2026 AHA/ASA Guideline for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke, including changes to IV thrombolysis, antiplatelet therapy, endovascular treatment, blood pressure goals, and glycemic goals. Key Concepts Tenecteplase (TNKase) is now equally preferred to alteplase (Activase) by the 2026 AHA/ASA guidelines. Tenecteplase has several advantages related to administration and the risk of medication errors. IV thrombolysis can be given in selected patients up to 9 hours after stroke symptom onset depending on brain imaging findings. Patients with symptom onset less than 4.5 hours are still eligible for IV thrombolysis regardless of brain imaging findings. IV thrombolysis should not be given for mild, non-disabling stroke symptoms. A "non-disabling" stroke means the symptoms do not impair activities of daily living or ability to return to work. The criteria for dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) has been updated. DAPT can be given for NIHSS of 4 or 5 (not just 3 or less) and can be started up to 72 hours after stroke onset (not just within 24 hours). References Prabhakaran S, Gonzalez NR, Zachrison KS, et al. 2026 Guideline for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. Published online January 26, 2026. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000513

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's fascination with brain health and human psychology began with a personal question: why do people perceive the same world so differently? After growing up with a brother diagnosed with schizophrenia, she dedicated her life to understanding the brain. At age 37, she suffered a massive stroke and watched her brain shut down in real time. That experience gave her rare insight into how the brain truly works. In this episode, Dr. Jill shares her whole-brain framework and explains how understanding our four brain characters can transform how we think, feel, and show up in life and business. In this episode, Hala and Dr. Jill will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (02:51) Childhood Curiosity About the Human Brain (10:14) Experiencing a Stroke at Age 37 (20:38) Warning Signs and Prevention of Stroke (25:13) Watching Her Brain Shut Down (33:45) The Four Brain Characters (44:05) Debunking Left vs. Right Brain Myths (51:19) Whole-Brain Thinking for Entrepreneurs (53:57) Why Society Is Left-Brain Dominant (1:04:24) Can You Control Your Brain? (1:09:25) Habits to Activate the Right Brain Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, bestselling author, and adjunct lecturer in anatomy, cell biology, and physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center and is best known for her 2008 TED Talk and memoir, My Stroke of Insight. For her groundbreaking contributions to modern brain science, Dr. Jill was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Sponsored By: Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/profiting Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting. Spectrum Business - Keep your business connected seamlessly with fast, reliable Internet, Phone, TV, and Mobile services. Visit https://spectrum.com/Business to learn more. Northwest Registered Agent - Build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes at northwestregisteredagent.com/paidyap Framer - Publish beautiful and production-ready websites. Go to Framer.com/profiting and get 30% off their Framer Pro annual plan. Quo - Run your business communications the smart way. Try Quo for free, plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to quo.com/profiting Experian - Manage and cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reduce your bills. Get started now with the Experian App and let your Big Financial Friend do the work for you. See experian.com for details. Bitdefender - Start protecting your business today with Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security. Get 30% off your plan at bitdefender.com/profiting  Intuit - Start paying bills the smart way, not the hard way. Learn more at QuickBooks.com/billpay   Resources Mentioned: Dr. Jill's Website: DrJillTaylor.com Dr. Jill's Book, My Stroke of Insight: bit.ly/DJBT-SOF  Dr. Jill's Book, Whole Brain Living: bit.ly/DJBT-WBL  Dr. Jill's TED Talk, My Stroke of Insight: bit.ly/DJBT-TEDTALK   Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals  Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap YouTube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Newsletter - youngandprofiting.co/newsletter  LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services: yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new  Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Podcast, Business, Business Podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal Development, Starting a Business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Psychology, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing, Negotiation, Money, Finance, Side Hustle, Startup, Mental Health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health, Growth Mindset, Positivity, Human Nature, Robert Greene, Chris Voss, Robert Cialdini  

The Alan Cox Show

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Emotional Anger After Stroke: Trisha Winski’s Story of a Carotid Web, Aphasia, and Learning to Slow Down Trisha Winski was 46 years old, working as a corporate finance director, with no high blood pressure, no diabetes, and no smoking history. By every conventional measure, she was not a stroke candidate. Then one morning, she stood up from the bathroom, collapsed, and couldn’t speak. Her ex-husband, sleeping on her couch by chance the night before, found her and called 911. The cause was a carotid web, a rare congenital condition she never knew she had. Three years and three months later, she’s living with aphasia, rebuilding her sense of self, and navigating something that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime in stroke conversations: emotional anger after stroke. What Is a Carotid Web — and Why Does It Matter? A carotid web is a rare shelf-like membrane in the internal carotid artery that disrupts blood flow, causing stagnation and clot formation. It is a form of intimal fibromuscular dysplasia and affects approximately 1.2% of the population. Most people never know they have it. Unlike the more commonly cited stroke risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and obesity, a carotid web is congenital. You are born with it. There is no lifestyle adjustment that would have prevented Trisha’s stroke. That distinction matters enormously when you are trying to make sense of what happened to you. “I have nothing that could cause it,” Trisha says. “No blood pressure, no diabetes. It’s hard.” The treating hospital, MGH in Boston, caught the carotid web, something Trisha was later told many hospitals would have missed. It is a reminder of how much diagnosis still depends on the right clinician, the right technology, and a degree of luck.   Why Am I So Angry After My Stroke? One of the most underexplored dimensions of stroke recovery is emotional anger, not just grief, not just fear, but a specific kind of rage that has no clean target. “Why me? Why did I have to have it? It’s frustrating. It’s so frustrating,” Trisha says. “I’m just mad. I don’t know who I’m mad at.” This is a clinically recognized phenomenon. Emotional dysregulation after stroke can have both neurological and psychological origins. The brain regions that govern emotional control may be directly affected by the injury. At the same time, the psychological weight of sudden, unearned loss of function, of identity, of a future you thought you understood is enough to generate profound anger in anyone. For people like Trisha, who had no risk factors and no warning, the anger is compounded. There is no behaviour to regret, no choice to unwind. The stroke simply happened. That can make the anger feel even more directionless and, paradoxically, even more consuming. “Why me? Why did I have to have it? It’s frustrating. It’s so frustrating.” Bill’s gentle reframe in the conversation is worth noting here: “Why not me? Who are you to go through life completely unscathed?” It’s not a dismissal, it’s an invitation to move from the question that has no answer to the one that might.   Aphasia: The Deficit That Hurts the Most Trisha’s stroke affected her left hemisphere, producing aphasia, a language processing difficulty that affects word retrieval, word substitution, and speaking speed. Her numbers remained largely intact, which helped her return to her finance role. But the aphasia has been, in her own words, the hardest part. “If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be normal, but I could be normal,” she says. “The aphasia kills me.” One of the quieter consequences of aphasia that Trisha describes is self-censoring, stopping herself from communicating in public because she fears taking too long, disrupting the flow of conversation, or being misunderstood. She has developed a workaround: telling people upfront she has had a stroke, so they give her the time she needs to get her words out. The frustration-aphasia loop is well documented: the more stressed or frustrated a person becomes, the worse the aphasia tends to get. The therapeutic implication is significant. Managing emotional anger after a stroke is not just a well-being issue for someone with aphasia; it is directly tied to their ability to communicate. “Whenever I’m not stressed, I can get it out. When I get nervous, I can’t,” Trisha explains.   The Trauma Ripple: It’s Not Just About You One of the most striking moments in this episode is when Trisha reflects on her son Zach and ex-husband Jason, both of whom were visibly distraught in the days after her stroke. “I had a stroke. Why are they traumatized?” she says and then catches herself. “I forgot to look at it from their perspective. They watched me have a stroke.” This is something stroke survivors frequently underestimate. The people around them, partners, children, friends, even ex-partners like Jason, carry their own version of the trauma. They watched helplessly. They made decisions under panic. They grieved a version of the person they knew, even as that person survived. Acknowledging this doesn’t diminish the stroke survivor’s experience. It widens the frame of recovery to include the whole system and opens the door to conversations about collective healing.   Neuroplasticity Is Real — Give It Time Three years and three months after her stroke, Trisha’s message to people in the early stages of recovery is grounded and honest. “Neuroplasticity really does exist. My brain finds places to find the words I never had before. It takes longer, but it gets there. Just give yourself time.” She also reflects candidly on going back to work too early, returning before she was medically cleared, crying every day, and unable to follow her own cognitive processes. “I should have waited,” she says. “But I did it. It taught me that if I ever had it again, I won’t do that.” Recovery after stroke is non-linear, unglamorous, and deeply personal. But the brain is adapting, always. Trisha’s story is evidence of that and a reminder that emotional anger after a stroke, however consuming it feels, is not the end of the story.   Read Bill’s book on stroke recovery: recoveryafterstroke.com/book | Support the show: patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke  DisclaimerThis blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Why Me? Navigating Emotional Anger After Stroke When You Did Nothing Wrong No risk factors. No warning. Just a carotid web she never knew about — and three years of emotional anger, aphasia, and finding her way back. Tiktok Instagram Facebook Highlights: 00:00 Introduction – Emotional anger after stroke 01:36 The Day of the Stroke 07:05 Post-Stroke Challenges and Rehabilitation 13:06 Ongoing Health Concerns and Medical Appointments 22:40 Navigating Health Challenges and Medical Support 30:20 Acceptance and Coping with Mortality 38:36 Communication Challenges and Aphasia 42:09 The Journey of Recovery and Self-Discovery 51:51 Facing the Aftermath of Stroke 59:22 Emotional Impact on Loved Ones 01:04:57 Navigating Life Changes 01:13:25 Finding Joy in New Passions 01:25:12 Trisha’s Journey: Emotional Anger After Stroke Transcript: Introduction – Emotional anger after stroke Trisha Lyn Winski (00:00) I don’t have anything that could cause it. I have nothing that, no blood pressure, no diabetes, It’s hard. It’s hard. don’t… It makes me mad. Really mad. Really, really mad that I to stroke. And like, everyone that has it… Bill Gasiamis (00:07) Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (00:21) or every dozen. I’m like, why me? Why did I have to have it? It’s frustrating. It’s so frustrating. Bill Gasiamis (00:28) Yeah, mad at who? Trisha Lyn Winski (00:30) I don’t know. I’m just mad. Like, I don’t know who I’m mad at. Bill Gasiamis (00:35) Before we get into Trisha’s story, and this is a raw, honest, and really important one, I wanna share a tool I’ve been using that I think can genuinely help stroke survivors get better answers faster. It’s called Turn2.ai. It’s an AI health sidekick that helps you deep dive into any burning question you have about your recovery. It searches across over 500,000 sources related to stroke, new research, expert discussions, patient stories and resources, and then keeps you updated on what matters each week. I use it myself and it’s my favorite tool of 2026 for staying current with what’s happening in stroke recovery. It’s low cost and completely patient first. Try it free and when you’re ready to subscribe, use my code, Bill10 at slash sidekick slash stroke to get a discount. I earn a small commission if you use that link at no extra cost to you. And that helps keep this podcast going. Also my book, The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened is available at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And if you’d like to support the show on Patreon and my goal of reaching a thousand episodes, you can do that by going to patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. Links are in the show notes. Right, Trisha Winsky was 46 years old, healthy, had no risk factors and then a carotid web. She never knew she had changed everything. Let’s get into it. Bill Gasiamis (02:06) Trisha Winski, welcome to the podcast. Trisha Lyn Winski (02:09) Thank you. Bill Gasiamis (02:10) Also thank you for joining me so late. I really appreciate people hanging around till the late hours of the evening to join me on the podcast. I know it’s difficult for us to make the hours that suit us both. I’m in the daytime here in Australia and you’re in the nighttime there. Trisha Lyn Winski (02:27) Yeah. Yeah. It’s okay. I can come to you later. Yeah, it’s late. Bill Gasiamis (02:34) As a stroke survivor, is it too late? Trisha Lyn Winski (02:36) No, no, not at all. Bill Gasiamis (02:38) Okay, cool. Tell me a little bit about what you used to get up to. What was life like before the stroke? Trisha Lyn Winski (02:45) I just get up and get to work. deal with it all day, come home, I’d go to the restaurant, the bars, my friends, and then like I had a stroke and everything changed. Everything changed in an instant. Bill Gasiamis (03:00) How old were you in the district? Trisha Lyn Winski (03:02) I was 46. Bill Gasiamis (03:04) And before that, were you in a family, married, do you have kids, any of that stuff? Trisha Lyn Winski (03:08) I have a kid. Now he’s 28. He was 25 when I had it. I was married before, but like a long time ago. Actually, my ex found me when I had a serve. So he’s the one who found me. But so yeah, that’s all I have here. My mom passed away in November. So it’s been challenging. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (03:30) Dramatic, ⁓ Sorry to hear that. how many years ago was a stroke? Trisha Lyn Winski (03:37) ⁓ It’s three years and three months. Bill Gasiamis (03:41) Yeah. What were you focused on back then? What were the main goals in your life? Was it just working hard? Was it getting to a certain time in your career? What was the main goal? Trisha Lyn Winski (03:50) I think I working hard, but I just wanted to get to a good place in my career. And I think I was in a good place. Now I second guess at all time because I’ve had strokes now, it doesn’t matter what happens. I’m always second guessing it. But I was in a good place. I just felt like I needed to make them better. And the stroke happened and I so didn’t. Bill Gasiamis (04:17) What kind of work did you do? Trisha Lyn Winski (04:18) I was the corporate finance director for an auto group. Bill Gasiamis (04:22) A lot of hours was it like crazy hours or was just regular hours. Trisha Lyn Winski (04:26) No, I worked a lot of hours, but in the end he wanted me work like 40, 50 hours a week. I couldn’t do that. 50 hours a week was killing me, but 40 was enough. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (04:37) Yeah. Were, did you consider yourself healthy? Was there any signs that you were unwell, that there was a stroke kind of on the horizon? Trisha Lyn Winski (04:46) No, nothing, The day before this, had, my eye was like, I want to say it’s twitching, but it wasn’t twitching. It was doing something like odd. And I didn’t realize that until I had a TIA recently, but I realized it then. It’s, how can I explain it? It’s like a clear, a blonde shape in my eye. it, when I move, it goes with me. And I try to see around it, I can’t see around it. And I said to Gary, I worked with him, was like, I’m gonna have to go to hospital. This continues. can’t see.” And then it went away. And that’s the only symptom I had. Only symptom. And he said, no, I should told you that you might be having a stroke. like, even if you told me that, I never believed him. Never. Bill Gasiamis (05:23) Hello? Yeah. When you’re, and it went away and you didn’t have a chance to go see anyone about it. Trisha Lyn Winski (05:37) Yeah, it went away in like, honestly, like five minutes. So I didn’t see anybody, but I thought it was okay. I mean, I guess now that I’m looking back at it, it’s kind of odd. It’s one eye, but I felt like it was gone. I don’t know. yeah. No, you don’t. Bill Gasiamis (05:55) Yeah. How could you know? mean, no one knows these things. And, and then on the day of the stroke, what happened? Was there any kind of lead up? Did you notice not feeling well during that day? And then the stroke, what was it like? Trisha Lyn Winski (06:09) No, so I get up like every other day to go to work. I went in the bathroom and the night before that Jason said Jason’s ex-ad he stayed at my house because he needed need a place to stay because he couldn’t go out Zach again. I was like okay we’ll sleep in my couch I’m gonna go to work tomorrow but you can sleep here. So he was there and I think if he wasn’t there I would have died. Post-Stroke Challenges and Rehabilitation Makes me sad. Um, anyway, so when I woke up I went to bathroom and I stood up from the toilet and I like I fell over and I I didn’t even realize it. So I fresh my face in like five places when I fell and I didn’t even I didn’t even know it my whole side was numb. So I didn’t feel it. And Jason, you know, helped me to bed. I thought he helped me to bed. He didn’t he like drug me to bed. He got in the bed and then I… He came back in like five minutes later, are you okay? Like he knew something was wrong. And I couldn’t articulate to him. So I said, I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m gonna go to work. So he put the phone in my hand to call my boss. And he came back in like five minutes later and I… He put it in my right hand so I didn’t call anybody. And he said, my God, I’ll never forget this. He said, my God, you’re having a stroke. And I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t talk. I just… Yeah, I could hear him say that, but I couldn’t talk to him. It’s… It’s really scary. Like, even talking right now, like… It upsets me. Bill Gasiamis (07:37) but you can hear him say that. This is really raw for you, isn’t it? Yeah, understand. went through very similar things like trying to speak about it and getting it out of my self and trying to, you know, bring it into the world and get it off my shoulders. Like often brought me to tears and made it really difficult for me to have a meaningful conversation with anyone about it. Trisha Lyn Winski (08:07) It does. Bill Gasiamis (08:09) There’s small blessings there with you, okay? All happened when for whatever reason your ex was in the house and was able to attend you. It’s an amazing thing that that is even possible ⁓ considering how some breakups go and how possible. Yeah. Yeah. And so he called 911 and got you to hospital. Is that how you ended up in hospital? Trisha Lyn Winski (08:15) I know. We’re good friends, it was a challenge. Yes. So they ended up taking me to MGH, it’s a hospital right down the street from me. ⁓ But he’s not from here, he’s from Pennsylvania. he didn’t know where to me, like, just has to go to the hospital. So they knew when they came up. So MGH is like known for their strokes, they’re like really good at strokes. ⁓ And so that’s where they plan on taking me. Bill Gasiamis (09:01) Yeah. And do you get a sense of what happened when you were in the hospital? Do you have any kind of recollection of what was going on? Trisha Lyn Winski (09:11) I honestly, in the first week, no. I remember seeing, in the first day, I saw Zach, my son, and Zach, his brother Connor was in there too, and Jason, they all were there with me when I woke up. But I saw them, and I saw my friend Matt, and then that’s all I remember seeing. I remember seeing my mom on the third day. I’m in jail on this third day, but that’s about it. Bill Gasiamis (09:41) Yeah. And then did you have deficits? couldn’t feel one of your sides? Did that come back, whole problem, that whole challenge? Trisha Lyn Winski (09:50) So the right side, it came back, but it came back like sporadically. So I just kind of want to come back. So the first day I saw Matt and I put up my arm to talk to him and I couldn’t like put my arm out. So I just like tap my arm. ⁓ Now I can move my arm fully, but I can’t, I don’t have the dexterity in my arm. So I can’t like. I can’t flip an egg with this hand. it’s like this and then this is like that. I can’t do this. ⁓ And my right foot has spasticity in it. then the three toes on the side, I could curl them up all the time. Bill Gasiamis (10:36) Okay, next. Trisha Lyn Winski (10:37) and I did botox for it, nothing helps. Bill Gasiamis (10:40) huh. Okay. Have you heard of cryo-neuralysis? Trisha Lyn Winski (10:42) yeah, yeah, I got that back. Bill Gasiamis (10:45) You got cryo-neuralysis? Trisha Lyn Winski (10:47) No, what are you saying? Bill Gasiamis (10:49) That’s spasticity treatment. Cryo-neurolosis, it’s a real weird long word. There’s a dude in Canada that ⁓ started a procedure to help freeze a nerve and it expands the ⁓ tendons or something around that and it decreases spasticity and it lasts longer than Botox. Trisha Lyn Winski (10:50) ⁓ no. Okay. ⁓ yeah, you need to give me his name. We’re gonna talk. That’s I went twice to have it done. ⁓ it didn’t help at all. And I met, I met the guy, ⁓ the diarist, diarist ⁓ at the hospital. And he said, I didn’t think it was, it was going to work. I’m like, it’s the first I saw you. And he was like, I saw you and you had the shirt. I’m like, okay. I saw a million people that we can’t, I don’t remember who they are. Bill Gasiamis (11:20) Okay. Yeah. All right. So I’m going to put a link to the details for cryo-neuralysis in the show notes. ⁓ you and I will communicate after the podcast episode is done. And I’ll send you the details because there’s this amazing new procedure that people are raving about that seems to provide more relief than Botox in a lot of cases, and it lasts longer. And it’s basically done by freezing the nerve or doing something like that to the nerve. in an injection kind of format and then it releases the spasticity makes it improve. ⁓ well worth you looking into it, especially if you’re in the United States and it’s in Canada. ⁓ I know that doctor is training people in the United States and around the world. So there might be some people closer to you than Canada that you can go and chat about. Yeah. And how long did you spend in hospital in the end? Trisha Lyn Winski (12:28) Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. I love it. four weeks. Yeah. So the first, the first week I was at MGH, ⁓ they kept me for longer in the ICU because I had hemorrhagic conversion, transformation, whatever it’s called. I, you know what that is? Well, that went from the, I can’t think of what I was trying to say. Bill Gasiamis (12:40) for weeks. Ongoing Health Concerns and Medical Appointments Trisha Lyn Winski (13:05) It went from the aneurysm to the, not the aneurysm, the. Bill Gasiamis (13:09) The carotid artery. The clot, ⁓ Trisha Lyn Winski (13:11) ⁓ yes. Yeah, carotid artery and went to my brain. So I my brain bleed for a couple of days, but not like bleed, bleed, but it showed blood. So they kept me in it for longer. Bill Gasiamis (13:23) Okay. And then did you go straight home? Did you go to rehab? What was that like? Trisha Lyn Winski (13:29) I went to rehab for three weeks. And I sobbed my eyes out. So at that point I was like, I was good, but I wasn’t at all good, but I thought I was good. I said, I wanna go home, I wanna go home. My son can, he teach me all, do all this stuff, I gotta go home. Now that I’m past it, there’s no way he could tell me, no way. I couldn’t tie my shoes. Bill Gasiamis (13:34) three weeks. And when you came home, were people living with you? Trisha Lyn Winski (13:56) So he’s. No, nobody was living with but he had to come move in with me for three months. Bill Gasiamis (14:06) Yeah, your son, yeah. What was that like? Trisha Lyn Winski (14:07) Yeah. Here’s my proxid. I mean, honestly, at the time it was fine because I slept all the time. I slept like, God, I would go to bed like seven, 730 at night. And I was sleeping until like, at least, some sort of next day. I’d get up for a few hours, do what I had to do, and then fall back asleep. But just, I slept for a lot. So it was okay then. But come to the end of it, I’m like, okay, it’s time for you at your place. I need my space again, but yeah, he’s yeah, I need to have my own space. But at the time I know I need to rest. Yeah, I do. Yeah. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (14:36) Yeah. and you need somebody around anyway. It’s important to have something near you if you’re unwell. Do they know what caused the stroke? Trisha Lyn Winski (14:53) ⁓ So I had a karate web. means that… ⁓ It’s really, it’s really rare. Only like 1.2 % of the whole population has it and I had it. It’s co-indentinob… co-ind… it’s… so I got it I was born. Bill Gasiamis (15:11) Yep, congenital. Trisha Lyn Winski (15:13) congenital, but they don’t know. I said that that would make it so much sense that they did a scan of your whole body at some point. I would have known that I had that years ago, but I didn’t know it. Bill Gasiamis (15:26) I don’t know what to look like, what to look for. The thing about scans, the whole body, my good friend of mine, the guy who helped me out when I was in hospital, he’s a radiographer and he does MRIs and all that kind of stuff. And he used to do my MRIs happened to be my friend happened to be working at the hospital that I was at. And he used to come and see me all the time. And I said to him, can we do a scan, you know, a preventative scan and check out, you know, my whole body? And he said, well, we can, but Trisha Lyn Winski (15:28) I know. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (15:53) What are we looking for? I said, I don’t know anything. He said, well, we could, we could find a heap of things or we could find nothing. And if we don’t know what we’re looking for, we can’t set our scanners to the particular, settings to find the thing that you’re looking for. Because one scanner looks for hundreds of different things and the settings for to look for that thing has to be set into the scanner. And that’s only when people have a suspicion that you might have X thing. Trisha Lyn Winski (16:09) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (16:23) then they set the scanner to find X thing and then they’ll look for it then they find it. He said, well, if we go in and do whole body scan, but we don’t even know what resolution to set it, how long to do the scan for. We don’t know what we’re looking for. So we don’t know what to do. And you have to be able to guide me and say, I want you to look for, in my case, a congenital arteriovenous malformation. In your case, carotid web. And in anyone else’s case is an aneurysm or whatever, but a general scan. Trisha Lyn Winski (16:38) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (16:53) Like it’s such a hard thing to do for people. then, and then sometimes you said you find things that people do have unexpectedly because they go in for a different scan and then you discover something else. But now they’ve got more information about something that’s quite unquote wrong with them. And it’s like, what do you do with that information? Do I do a procedure to get rid of it? Do I, do I leave it there? Do I monitor it? Like, do I worry about it? Do I not worry about it? Trisha Lyn Winski (16:56) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (17:21) is that it throws a big kind of curve ball out there and then no one knows how to react to it, how to respond. So it’s a big deal for somebody to say, can we have a whole body scan so we can work out what are all the things wrong with me? Trisha Lyn Winski (17:38) I it’s true, but I think that for me, most people have a carotid web. It’s obvious. know how old you are, it’s obvious. So then in that regard, like a carotid web, it looks a little indentured in the bloodstream. looks a little indentured in your artery. So I think that they would have seen it, but… ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (18:02) I love her. Trisha Lyn Winski (18:06) But then again, I don’t know. The hospital I went to, he said, you’re lucky you came here because most hospitals would have missed us. and I’m like, Bill Gasiamis (18:15) because they probably didn’t have the technology to find it. Trisha Lyn Winski (18:17) I don’t know. when I came to, it wasn’t months later, but I saw it on the scan. like, ⁓ it’s right there. ⁓ He said, yeah, but I thought it would be obvious, but it’s not so obvious. Bill Gasiamis (18:33) I just did a Google search for it and it says a carotid web is a rare shelf like membrane type narrowing in the internal carotid artery, specifically arising from the posterior wall of the carotid bulb. It is a form of intimal fibromuscular dysplasia that causes blood to stagnate forming clots that can lead to recurrent often severe ischemic strokes. Okay. So it causes blood to stay stagnant in that particular location causing clots. And you in the time we’ve been communicating, which is only in the last three or four weeks, you even sent me a message saying you just had an S you just had a TIA. ⁓ how come you’re still having clots? they not treating you or Trisha Lyn Winski (19:20) Yeah. No, I think they so they gave me um a scent in my re to kind of write that I don’t know why I had it cuz um, but my eye was like acting crazy again Just one eye and I I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I I don’t want the hospital at all for anything if I have if I don’t have to go I’m not going to hospital I Text Jason and Zach and they’re like no you have to go like I’ll wait a little while so Meanwhile, I was waiting a little while because I didn’t want to go and then I listened to ⁓ a red chat chat GBT He said no you have to go right now. Here’s why I’m like Now it’s like five hours later. I’m Sorry, so I went but and they said that I have ⁓ It’s likely I had a clot They don’t know where it came from though. So that’s that’s the thing is it’s confusing and by the way I think there’s something to be said about ⁓ I think if you have a stroke You can have one again easier than somebody who didn’t. I didn’t know that, but I learned it quickly. ⁓ So they said I had it, maybe went up in my eye, but it broke apart before it became an actual stroke. But I don’t know. Bill Gasiamis (20:41) thing. I love that you didn’t want to go and you ignored the male influences in your life, but you listen to chat. Trisha Lyn Winski (20:50) Thank you. I did, I did. They’re so smart. they say, I find on Google anyway. So that I listened to ChatGVT, it was like, I don’t know. And I know that like… Bill Gasiamis (21:05) You know that that’s kind of mental. Trisha Lyn Winski (21:08) It is actually, but I know that like my son is actually really smart and I think that they, but I didn’t listen him. I just listened to Chad Judy. Bill Gasiamis (21:18) Yeah. Anyhow, I love that you went in the end because, ⁓ and why don’t you want to go like, you just hate doctors and hospitals and that kind of thing? They saved you, didn’t they? Didn’t they save you? Didn’t they help you? Trisha Lyn Winski (21:29) There was? Yeah, but I don’t know. I think I spent so much time in there. ⁓ I don’t know. It’s in my head. I don’t like to sit in hospitals because of that. So after having the stroke, I stayed in hospital for month. I got out. I went back in like two weeks. I fell over twice. They thought that’s why. So when I was in hospital, something like they go Vegas something is pretty common. And I was like, okay, I did want to go then. I did want to go and then Zach made me. And then two months later, I went in to get the stint. And at that time I got a period. So it’s a long story. But I said to the doctor, I’m like, well, I’ll be okay. Does it do anything else because of this? He’s like, no, you should be fine. But if it gets bad, you have to go the hospital. he got bad. I almost died. I almost died from that. And that made me traumatized because I was awake and alive for all of it. I saw it all and passed out like six times in like three, I don’t know how many days, like five days. Yeah, but. Navigating Health Challenges and Medical Support Bill Gasiamis (22:46) Yeah. The challenge with something going wrong in hospital is that it’s less likely to be as dramatic as something going wrong at home. And that’s the thing, right? If you haven’t got help, then the chances that your stroke cause you way more deficits. That’s like so much worse. The best place for you to be is somewhere other than at home because you don’t want to risk being at home alone when something goes wrong and then you’re home alone. Trisha Lyn Winski (23:04) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (23:15) when the blood flow has stopped to your head for a lot of hours. Like it could kill you, it make you more disabled and it could do all sorts of things. it’s like, but I get the whole, what is it like? It’s kind of like an anxiety about medical people and hospitals and stuff like that. Trisha Lyn Winski (23:20) Yeah. Yeah. I think that it’s mostly like I don’t like to stay there. I got a weird thing about this. I don’t like to stay there. I can stay anywhere I go, but the hospital really bothered me. I think that they were actually pretty good to me. So I’m not mad at them for that. ⁓ But I don’t want to see them now if I can possibly help it. Bill Gasiamis (23:54) Yeah, you’re done with them. Trisha Lyn Winski (23:56) I’m totally done. Bill Gasiamis (23:58) Yeah, I get it. I got, I got to that stage. My dramas were like three or four years worth of, you know, medical appointments, scans, surgery, rehab. Trisha Lyn Winski (24:07) Oh my god. Medical appointments. Medical appointments, forget it. They’re like, oh my god. I have so many of them, I can’t even say it. Bill Gasiamis (24:11) Yeah. I hear you. hear you. went through the same thing and then I got over it. now lately I’ve been going back to the hospital and seeing medical doctors for, um, not how I haven’t got heart issues, my, I’ve got high blood pressure and they don’t know what’s causing it. And, know, I’ve had my heart checked. I’ve had my arteries checked. I’ve had all these tests, blood tests, MRIs, the whole lot, and it’s getting a little bit old, you know, like I’m over it. But the truth is without them, I don’t. I don’t have a hope. Like if my blood pressure goes through the roof, you know, which had been, had been sitting at 170 over 120, 130. And I have a brain hemorrhage because of uh, high blood pressure. know what a brain hemorrhage is like, you know, I don’t want to have another one. So I’m like, I am going to, uh, I’m going to shut up, go through it and be grateful that I have medical support. Um, which, which Trisha Lyn Winski (24:55) Yeah. I know. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (25:14) You know, a lot of people don’t get to have, it’s like, whatever, you know, I’ll cop it. I’ll cop it. I’ll go. And hopefully they can get ahead of it. So now they’re just changing my medication. I want to get to the bottom of it. Why have I got high blood pressure? The challenge with the medical system that I have is, is they just tell you, you have it and here’s something to stop it from being high. But I, they never say to you, we’re going to investigate why, like we’re going to try to get to the bottom of it. Trisha Lyn Winski (25:16) Yeah. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (25:40) and I’ve been pushing them to investigate why do I have high blood pressure. Trisha Lyn Winski (25:44) sure. So I don’t have, I never had high blood pressure but speaking of I’ve, I don’t have a problem with my heart but they, so that when I had this for the first time they made me get out and have to, I had to wear a heart monitor for a month and I said like why am I wearing a heart monitor? There was something, they, I don’t know what it is. Bill Gasiamis (25:51) Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (26:13) Afib or something like that in there. And this time was the same thing. had heart bars over there right now. I had to send it back and they’re gonna send me new one. every time I’ve taken my heart test, and by the went for EKG just the other day. It was fine. But they found like something near my heart rate, it’s not like I need to be concerned about these. It’s nothing I need to be concerned about. So I was like, okay. They’re making you wear that for a month. Anyway. Bill Gasiamis (26:46) Yeah, just to go through things, just to check things, just to work some stuff out. Trisha Lyn Winski (26:47) Yeah. Yeah, yeah, this month I have ton, I have like seven appointments. Bill Gasiamis (26:56) Yeah, I used to forget my appointments all the time, even though I had him in my calendar, even though I had reminders, I just, even though I got reminded on the day, an hour before, two hours before, he meant nothing to me. I would just completely forget about him. Trisha Lyn Winski (26:59) me too. Me too. Same thing. I forgot all of it. And I had to share it with Zach and he could tell me, have an appointment. Like, okay. I forgot. He’s like, have an appointment. I’m like, fuck, I have to go. Bill Gasiamis (27:13) Yeah. How long did it take you to get back to work? Trisha Lyn Winski (27:28) I at least I went back to work. I went back to work before I was told I could go back to work. And I wrote them an email like, listen, I can’t sit at home and run one fucking freeze. I need to do something. So I went back to work. ⁓ And at first I went back to work part time. And honestly, like I cried. I left there crying every day. And not because I think that I. Not because of people. don’t think it was the people. I couldn’t understand. My head was like… I couldn’t focus and put all that work into my… I couldn’t put it into me. So I couldn’t understand what I was doing. And then you give them a month. Eventually I got it, but it was a struggle. I should have waited until October. And they said I should go back in October. Maybe I could go back in October. I should have waited until then. Bill Gasiamis (28:22) Yeah. Do you kind of like a nervous energy type of person? Do you can’t sit still or is it like, can’t spend a lot of time on your own with yourself? Like, is it? Trisha Lyn Winski (28:34) I can spend a lot of time by myself. don’t like to ⁓ here by myself. I can be by myself. I don’t like to be… I can’t think of… What did you say before? Bill Gasiamis (28:48) Is it just downtime? Is it the downtime? it too much? Did you have too much downtime? Trisha Lyn Winski (28:52) Yes, definitely too much downtime. But I couldn’t see I was sitting at home and Zach was there, whatever he was doing. was like, I can’t, I need to do something. So I went to work and in all reality, I should have walked around. should have, I didn’t do that. Bill Gasiamis (29:04) Yeah. Yeah. How did your colleagues find you when you went back? Did they kind of appreciate what you had been through? Was that easy to have those conversations? What was it like? Trisha Lyn Winski (29:21) Yeah, so I oversaw all the finances department. ⁓ They were actually like, honestly like rock stars. They were like really, really good to me. ⁓ That was helpful. because I love them anyway. it made me feel good to say that that’s what I’m doing. ⁓ But I still left there and cried. Not because like I think that I just couldn’t understand it. They were good to me. Everyone was good to me in theory, I couldn’t understand. Bill Gasiamis (29:56) you had trouble with the work, with doing your job because of your cognitive function. Trisha Lyn Winski (29:59) Yeah, yeah, yeah, there’s a other little things with that, it’s more or less the cognitive function is a problem to do the work. Bill Gasiamis (30:12) Yeah. Tiring. Like I mentioned, it’s really mentally draining and tiring. remember sitting in front of a computer trying to work out what was going on on the screen and it being completely just blank. Acceptance and Coping with Mortality Trisha Lyn Winski (30:22) And so that’s actually what probably got me the most was that what you’re saying. I’d be sitting there and look at my screen. I couldn’t remember what I was doing, but I remember like weird things. I remember how to do like Excel. I don’t know how I remember Excel, but I did. I was really good with numbers. And they said that I was going to have a problem with numbers and everything. So I have aphasia too. I don’t have a choice with that, but Bill Gasiamis (30:31) Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (30:49) That’s why I talk so weird. Bill Gasiamis (30:52) Okay, I didn’t notice. Trisha Lyn Winski (30:54) Oh, oh, I feel good. But yeah, I have aphasia. But I can do certain things. And the numbers was going to be, they said it going to, I couldn’t, that’s going to be a problem. And the numbers, I can do all day. But I can’t do other little things. Bill Gasiamis (31:11) I understand. So you went back to work. It was kind of helpful, probably too early to go back, but good to be out of the house. Good to be connecting with people again. And has that improved? Did you find that you’ve been able to kind of get better in front of a screen, better with the things that you struggled with, or is it still still a bit of a challenge? Trisha Lyn Winski (31:19) Yeah. Yeah. So two things, ⁓ I got fired eventually, and that’s another whole issue. Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk about that another time. but ⁓ so, but now that I’m here, I could look my computer and it’s fine. I can do it all day. But I really, it’s a long story. think that Warren, my boss, ⁓ Deb, but they definitely like hinder me. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (31:39) Understand. another time. Yeah. Okay. I understand. Well, maybe we won’t talk about it, like, because of the complications with that, but that’s all good. I understand. So, ⁓ do you know, a lot of the times you hear about acceptance and you hear about, ⁓ like, Trisha Lyn Winski (32:07) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (32:23) When some, well, something goes through something serious, something difficult, you know, there has to be kind of this acceptance of where they’re at. And that’s kind of the first stage of healing recovery, overcoming. Where are you with all of this? you like, totally get that at 46. It’s a shock to have a stroke. You look perfectly fine, perfectly healthy. This thing that you didn’t know about that you’ve had for 46 years suddenly causes an issue. How do you deal with your mortality and knowing that things can go wrong, even though you’re not aware of, you you’re not doing anything to really make your situation worse. You look fit and healthy. Were you drinking, smoking, doing any of that kind of stuff? Trisha Lyn Winski (33:06) I drank occasionally, I wasn’t a drunk, I don’t smoke. Bill Gasiamis (33:11) yeah social smoke social drinker but not smoker Trisha Lyn Winski (33:15) Yeah, I don’t smoke. I don’t have anything that could cause it. I have nothing that, no blood pressure, no diabetes, It’s hard. Jason talks about it all the time. It’s hard. don’t… It makes me mad. Really mad. Really, really mad that I to stroke. And like, everyone that has it… Bill Gasiamis (33:24) Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (33:41) or every dozen. I’m like, why me? Why did I have to have it? It’s frustrating. It’s so frustrating. Bill Gasiamis (33:48) Yeah, mad at who? Trisha Lyn Winski (33:50) I don’t know. I’m just mad. Like, I don’t know who I’m mad at. Bill Gasiamis (33:56) Yeah. The thing about the why me question, it’s a fair question. asked it too. I even ask it now sometimes, especially when, um, I’ve got to go back for more tests, more, uh, now I’ve got high blood pressure. Like, like I needed another thing to have, you know, like, and it’s like, the only thing that I come back with after why me is why not me? Like, who are you to go through life completely unscathed and get to 99 and then die from natural Bill Gasiamis (34:25) wanted to stop there for a second because that question, why me, is something I wrote about in my book. It’s one of the most common and most painful places stroke survivors get stuck. If you want to read about it and how I worked through it and what I found on the other side, the book is called The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened and it’s available at You’ll find the link in the show notes. And now let’s get back to Tricia. Bill Gasiamis (34:54) like Trisha Lyn Winski (34:54) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (34:55) You’re normal. being normal, ⁓ normal things happen to people. Some of those things that are shit are strokes and heart attacks and stuff that you didn’t know that you were born with. ⁓ what’s really interesting though, is to live the life after stroke and to kind of wrap my head around what that looks like. My left side feels numb all the time. ⁓ tighter, ⁓ has spasticity, but nothing is curled. Like my fingers on my toes are not curled, but it’s tighter. ⁓ it hurts. ⁓ It’s colder, it’s ⁓ sensitive, I’ve got a, and I always have a comparison of the quote unquote normal side, the other side, it’s always. And the comparison I think is worse because it makes me notice my affected side and that noticing it. Trisha Lyn Winski (35:31) Yeah. or yeah. Bill Gasiamis (35:46) makes the reality happen again every day. Like it’s a new, I wake up in the morning, I get out of bed, my left side still sleepy. I have to be careful. If I’m not careful, I’ll lose my balance. I don’t want to fall over. And it’s like, I get to experience a different version of myself. And sometimes I want to be grateful for that. want to say, wow, what a cool, different thing to experience in a body. But then I’m trying to work out like, what’s the benefit of it? don’t know if there’s a benefit. ⁓ Trisha Lyn Winski (36:14) I don’t know either. Bill Gasiamis (36:15) to me, but, Trisha Lyn Winski (36:15) I don’t either. Bill Gasiamis (36:18) but here I am talking to you and, and, and 390 people before you, ⁓ about strike all over the world and we’re putting something out and it’s making a difference. And maybe that’s the benefit. I don’t know, but do know what I mean? Like, why not us? I hate asking that question too. Trisha Lyn Winski (36:34) I don’t know. You had ⁓ the podcast on YouTube and I stumbled upon it on the wise. I watched YouTube and then you came out there and I’m like, so before that I was looking at different, I watched every video, every video on strokes, every video I could possibly type but I watched. I did. ⁓ And then I stumbled upon your stuff and I watched that stuff too. And that’s why I wouldn’t have thought to call you or reach out to you. Bill Gasiamis (37:11) Was it helpful? Was it helpful? Trisha Lyn Winski (37:13) Yeah, it is helpful. But it doesn’t change the fact that I had a stroke. All the people that had it, I feel bad for them. Honestly, like, so when I was at the hospital, they had me join a bunch of groups on Facebook and Instagram that are like, they’re people who’ve gone through a stroke. most, I don’t comment on them. I don’t say, because most of the time it’s people bitching. Bill Gasiamis (37:19) Yeah. Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (37:43) But I really like, times I, trust me, I’m like ready to kill somebody. But I don’t like say it there. I only ask them questions that are really serious. But sometimes I read what they say. And there was a guy the other day, I don’t know what he wrote, but he had like all kinds of words that they were way jumbled. was like, his message just didn’t make sense. I thought to myself, God, if I was like that, I’d be so sad. Somebody, I do think that he’s worse than I could be, but you don’t know. Bill Gasiamis (38:19) Yeah. Communication Challenges and Aphasia Yeah. He, his words are more jumbled than yours. And you, if you, you, you’re thinking, if you were like that, you would be probably feeling more sad than you currently are. And you’re assuming that maybe that person is feeling sad, but maybe they’re not, maybe they just got the challenge and they’re taking on the challenge and they’re trying to heal and recover. don’t know. And maybe, maybe they’re getting help and support through that therapy and also maybe psychological help and all that kind of stuff. Have you ever had any counseling or anything like that to sort of try and wrap your head around what the hell’s going on in your life? Trisha Lyn Winski (38:54) So I did it once and actually like I think she was okay. I felt like I was always having to talk. I know that I’m so stocked but she wasn’t asking me a lot of questions and I felt like she needs to me more questions. I’ll have more answers but like but she didn’t. She just wanted me to talk so I just talked. But I stopped seeing her because I… So two reasons. I stopped seeing her because they when they fire me I… I didn’t know what I had to do. I knew I insured that I didn’t know how long it was going to be for me to have that. So I talked to her for a little bit and then I stopped talking to her because I just couldn’t deal with it. I think now I’m getting to the point where I’m going to do it. Bill Gasiamis (39:37) It was a bit early. I like that. I like what you said there. Cause sometimes it’s early. It’s too early to go through that and unwrap it. Right. And now a little bit of times past, you probably have more conscious awareness of, do need to talk about this and I need to go through and see a certain person. And now I’m going to take that action. It’s been three years and now I can take that action. like it. ⁓ and I like what you said about, you have to feel like you’re connected to that person or you have rapport or Trisha Lyn Winski (39:46) It is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (40:11) they get you and you’re not just, it’s not a one way conversation. That’s really important in choosing a counselor. I know my counselor, we, I didn’t do all the talking. was like you and me chatting now about stuff. had a conversation about things regularly. And therefore, ⁓ one of the good things that she was able to do was just ease my mind when I would go off on real negative tangents, you know, she would try to bring me back down just to calm and. Trisha Lyn Winski (40:35) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (40:39) settle me down and offer me hope. Trisha Lyn Winski (40:42) I think my, honestly my biggest problem with this whole stroke and having it at all, I have aphasia and that 100 % kills me. Because I can’t like, I can talk like normal but I can’t talk like… I forget what I’m saying. So it’s in my brain, but I can’t spit it out. I get really frustrated at that point. people, I had a stroke, my left hemisphere and my right side went numb. My left hemisphere is all kinds of different, different things that I can’t do. The good news is my left means I can’t like, I can talk to people like this. But the other person and that guy I was talking about, he probably had the right side, his aphasia was. really bad, really bad. But I was a person who talked like really fast all the time, all the time. And now like, I think part of my brain goes so fast and I can’t spit it out. I get really, I get, it’s, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (41:38) Okay. as quickly as you can. Okay, so you know, I’ve spoken to a ton of people who have aphasia. And one of the things they say to me is when they have frustration, their aphasia is worse. So the skill is to learn to be less frustrated with oneself, which means that’s like a personal love thing. That’s self love, that’s supporting yourself, you know, and going. Trisha Lyn Winski (42:00) It is. The Journey of Recovery and Self-Discovery Yeah, that’s a point. That’s a good point. Bill Gasiamis (42:13) And it’s going like, well, you know, you’re trying your best. It’s all good. You know, don’t get frustrated with yourself. Don’t hate yourself. Don’t give yourself a hard time about it. ⁓ and try and decrease the frustration. Then the aphasia gets less impactful, but, ⁓ and then maybe, you know, this part of learning the new you is bring the old Trisha with you, but maybe the nutrition needs to be a little bit more slow, a little more measured, a little more calm. And it’s a skill because for 46 years, you were the regular. Trisha Lyn Winski (42:36) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (42:42) Tricia, the one that you always knew, but now you’ve got to adjust things a little bit. It’s like people going into midlife, right? Like us, you know, in our fifties and then, um, or, know, sort of approaching 50 on and beyond and then go, I’m going to keep eating, uh, fast food that I ate when I was 21 and 20, know, McDonald’s or sodas or whatever. You can’t do it anymore. You have to make adjustments, even though that’s been your habit for the longest time, your body’s going, I can’t deal with this stuff anymore. Trisha Lyn Winski (43:03) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (43:12) Take it out, you know, let’s simplify things. And it’s kind of like how to approach. I stroke recoveries things need to kind of get paid back and simplified. And it has to start with self love. And you have to acknowledge how much effort you’ve already put in for the last three years to get you to the position that you are now, which is far better than you were three years ago when the stroke happened. And you have to celebrate. how much your body is trying to support you heal your brain. Your body’s trying to get you over the line and your mindset is getting frustrated with itself, which is making things worse. Tweak that and things will get a bit better maybe. I don’t know. Trisha Lyn Winski (43:55) It does. You’re 100 % right. ⁓ So whenever I’m not stressed, so two things. I think when I talk to people I don’t know, I always get like nervous about that. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (44:10) You think they’re thinking about things that you’re not they’re not really Trisha Lyn Winski (44:13) Yeah, but then who knows what they’re thinking of. that’s just how I get, whenever I get like, I went to a concert like a couple of years ago and I was like, I believe I couldn’t, I could hear that the music is so loud in my brain. Like I gotta get out of here. So I left. I’ve gotten better since then, but there’s something about, I have to do things slower. I have to do things over. I’ve realized that like recently, like in the last like maybe month, I have to do things very slow. I have to. And maybe this is God’s way of like, tell me like slow the f down, you’re going too fast. But that’s how I live my whole life. And then all of a sudden, now you’re not going to get up. Yeah, it’s a huge testament. So I can do it right. Not always right. Bill Gasiamis (45:01) Yeah, there’s an adjustment. Yeah, adjustment. Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (45:09) because again, it’s isophagia, it’s gonna be hair mess, if I go slower, much slower, I can get it all out. But, ugh. Bill Gasiamis (45:22) It’s a lot of work, man. It doesn’t end here. You know, the work just as just beginning, you know, this getting to understand yourself, to know yourself, to support yourself, to be your biggest advocate. ⁓ and then to fail and then to try and be the person that, ⁓ picks themselves up and goes again and tries again without getting frustrated. I know exactly what you mean. Like so many people listening will know what you mean. Trisha Lyn Winski (45:22) It’s a pain. It’s a pain! Bill Gasiamis (45:51) And with time, you’ll get better and better because I know that three years seems like a long time, but it’s early in the recovery phase. The recovery is still going to continue. Year four, five, six, seven will be better and better and better. I’m, I’m 12 years post brain surgery and 14 years post first incident. So it’s like, things are still improving and getting better for me. Trisha Lyn Winski (46:17) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (46:18) And one of the things is the way that my body responds to physical exercise. went for a bike ride a little while ago, a couple of weeks ago. And when I used to go for a bike ride at the beginning, um, man, I would be wiped out for the entire day. Uh, and I used to do a morning bike ride about like 10, 30, 11 o’clock and I’d be wiped out for the rest of the day. Trisha Lyn Winski (46:32) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (46:39) Whereas now I can go for a bike ride and just be wiped out like a regular person, you know, about an hour or two, and then I’m back on board with doing other tasks. So it takes so much time for the brain to heal. Nobody can give you a timeline and you’ve got heaps more healing to go. Trisha Lyn Winski (46:57) So I looked at my stuff on YouTube, how long it takes to recover from a stroke. I’ve looked at that everywhere. Everywhere I can find. I’ve looked at that. It’s so funny. Like everybody says that it’s, everybody’s story is different. Everybody. It doesn’t matter how long you were in hospital for, doesn’t how long. But that like, it’s crazy. have no like timetable of when I’m going to get better. None. I have to deal with it. Bill Gasiamis (47:27) Yeah. It’s such a hard thing. It’s not a broken bone, know, like six weeks, stay off it, do a little bit of rehab and then you’re back to normal. Trisha Lyn Winski (47:28) It sucks, but. I had two years before this or maybe a year before that, had a rotator cuff surgery. I look back at that and I’m like, that was so bad. And that was like night and day. The stroke definitely like, the stroke killed me. Not the stroke. I don’t want to say the stroke. I think having aphasia killed me. I do, the stroke is, get me wrong. I don’t like it either, but ⁓ the aphasia kills me. If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be normal, but I can be normal. But the aphasia. Bill Gasiamis (48:00) Okay. Yeah. But, but what, but that word killed me is a real heavy word, right? maybe you should consider changing that word, but also like, didn’t pick that you had aphasia and I, and I speak to stroke survivors all the time. Like I didn’t pick it. I, I just assumed that was the way you process your words and that’s how you get things out. Like it didn’t, I didn’t notice it at all. Trisha Lyn Winski (48:26) I know, I know, it’s funny that said Yeah, that’s actually good. That’s really good. But I know it’s it. I definitely know it’s it. I could talk like a mile a minute and now like. Bill Gasiamis (48:47) Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (48:52) I mean… Bill Gasiamis (48:52) Maybe it was maybe maybe now it’s more about ⁓ quality rather than quantity, Trisha. Trisha Lyn Winski (49:00) Apparently it is. Bill Gasiamis (49:01) I’m not saying that you didn’t have quality in that I didn’t know you so I’m not kind of yeah but you know what I mean like Trisha Lyn Winski (49:03) Yeah. No, it’s okay. Trust me, it’s okay. But yeah, it just frustrates me. I can’t get out what I want to get out. And so at that time, just give me a little time, I’ll get it out. But I can’t say that to people when I’m out. I can’t say this to So I just, I don’t say it at all. Bill Gasiamis (49:22) Yeah. so you stop yourself from communicating because you think you’re taking too long and it’s interrupting the flow of the conversation. Yeah. I think you’re doing that to yourself. I don’t think that’s true. We’ve had a fantastic conversation here and I’ve never picked it. Trisha Lyn Winski (49:34) Yeah. all day. But so you’re somebody who’s had a stroke before. It’s kind of different for me because you had. But if you didn’t have a stroke, will be… Well, I don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe one-on-one I’m okay. No, think I… No, it’s because you had a stroke. I think of all the people I’ve talked to and they’re one-on-one. I don’t do well with them. But I think that you’ve had a stroke so I just… I know how to communicate with you. Bill Gasiamis (49:54) I understand. And maybe you’re more at ease about it. Less feeling, judged. I understand. Yeah. Trisha Lyn Winski (50:20) Yes, all day. Even that guy I told you about that that said that on Facebook God like I Really like my heart goes out to him But then that there’s the people that are fishing a plane I’m like I want to say my heart goes out to them, it really, it goes to certain people. I think that. He’s like going through it. Bill Gasiamis (50:45) Yeah. One of the problems with going to Facebook to bitch and moan about it, especially when you’re going through it is that you get an abundance of people who also are there to bitch and moan about it. And, and that makes it worse. think you should do bitching and moaning on your own. Like when there’s no one watching or listening. Cause then that way there’s not a loop of bitching and moaning that happens. That makes it dramatically worse for everybody. Trisha Lyn Winski (51:01) Yeah, I do it myself. Bill Gasiamis (51:09) ⁓ and that’s why I don’t hang around on Facebook, Instagram, social media, or anything like that for those types of conversations. If I’m not sharing a little bit of wisdom or somebody’s story or, ⁓ asking a question, like a genuine question, one of the questions might be, did you struggle driving and did you have to pull over and go to sleep in the middle of the road? If you had a big trip ahead of you in the car, I’ve done that. Like if, if I’m not asking a question like that, I don’t want to be, ⁓ on social media saying. life sucks, this sucks, that sucks. Like forget about it. What’s the point of that? That’s why I started the podcast so I can have my own conversations about it that were positive based on what we’re overcoming rather than all the shit we’re dealing with. And that way ⁓ we take off that spiral, the negative downward spiral. trying to make it an upward spiral. You know, where things are. Trisha Lyn Winski (51:41) Yeah. Facing the Aftermath of Stroke Bill Gasiamis (52:05) I don’t know, we’re seeing the glass half full perhaps, or we’re seeing the positive that came out of it. If something like, I know there’s some positive stuff that came out of stroke for you. Day one, you definitely didn’t think that maybe three years down the track. Maybe if it wasn’t for this, well, then that wouldn’t have happened for me. Like I’ve been on TV. I’ve been at the stroke foundation. I’ve been on radio. I’ve been, I’ve presented. I’ve got a podcast. wrote a book. Like it’s taken years and years for all those good things to come, but they never would have happened if I didn’t have a stroke. So I wanted to have those types of conversations, you know, what are the positive things we can turn this into? Because dude, then there’s just enough shit to deal with that. We don’t have to deal with every other version of it, you know? ⁓ and I think it’s better to have your me personally, my negative moments alone, cause I don’t want to get into a competition with somebody. Trisha Lyn Winski (52:42) That’s good. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (53:05) who I say, I didn’t sleep well, my left side hurts, it feels like pins and needles. And then they say to me, ⁓ you think that’s bad? Well, you know, forget about it. I don’t want to be that that guy on the other end of a conversation like that, you know. Trisha Lyn Winski (53:13) Yeah. ⁓ So you said your left side, ⁓ you see you have pin the needles, is always like that? So I’m sorry, had hemorrhagic stroke? Okay. I know the difference between two, ⁓ why did you have hemorrhagic stroke? Bill Gasiamis (53:27) Always, yeah, never goes away. Yeah, Brain blade. I was born with a blood vessel that was malformed. So it was like really weak one. I was really like, uh, was kind of like, uh, uh, it wasn’t created properly in my brain when I was born and it’s called an arteriovenous malformation. then they sit idle, they sit idle and they do nothing for a lot of people. And then sometimes they burst. Trisha Lyn Winski (53:58) Mm-hmm. ⁓ I heard it. Bill Gasiamis (54:08) And people sometimes have them all over their body. They don’t have to have them in their head. They can have them on the skin, ⁓ in, in an arm on a leg, wherever. And on an arm and a leg, they, they decrease the blood flow and they create real big lesions of skin damage on the surface in a brain. They leak into the brain and they cause a stroke. ⁓ so the challenge with it is like you, there was no signs and symptoms. for any of my life until it started bleeding. And when I took action, eventually, I was like, yo, I didn’t want to go to the doctor. I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I want to do any of that. It took seven days for me to go to the hospital. When I finally got there, they found the scan, found the blood in my head. And then they thought it would stop bleeding and it didn’t. And then it bled again and they wanted to monitor it to see if it stops bleeding. They wanted to try to avoid surgery. And then a bled a third time. And then after they bled the third time, they said, we have to have surgery. We’ve got to take it out because it’s too dangerous. And when it bled the second time, I didn’

Coach Ted talks about the crucial measurement of stroke volume as an indicator of heart health and overall fitness. (Originally aired 06-19-2023)

Former Dead Kennedy's frontman Jello Biafra suffered a stroke & is in stable condition as he updates fans this week, Alice Cooper announces his autobiography ‘Devil On My Shoulder' will be published this October with a small UK book tour to accompany it, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is busy these days collaborating with Travis Barker and Josh Klinghoffer on the theme song for the new HBO series ‘Rooster' with Steve Carrell and made a rare public appearance performing with an R.E.M. tribute band in NYC last week,  Keanu Reeve's band Dogstar announces a second reunion album and 2026 tour to follow, Stray Cats return with a summer US tour after Brian Setzer's health related cancellation last year & more… PLUS ‘This Week in Rock & Roll History Trivia', Rock Birthdays, ‘The Best & Worst Rock Album Artwork of the Week' & much more!All of our links are up at www.rocknewsweekly.com every Monday, where you can check out the full episode on 8 different platforms (including Amazon Audible & Apple/Google Podcasts)Watch us LIVE, chat with us & more…Every Sunday around 2pm PST @ https://www.twitch.tv/rocknewsweeklyWatch all of our videos, interviews & subscribe at Youtube.com/@rocknewsweeklyFollow us online:Instagram.com/rocknewsweeklyFacebook.com/rocknewsweeklyTwitter.com/rocknewsweeklyTikTok.com/@rocknewsweekly#JelloBiafra #AliceCooper #MichaelStipe #Dogstar #StrayCats#Rock #News #RockNews #RockNewsWeekly #RockNewsWeeklyPodcast #Podcast #Podcasts #Metal #HeavyMetal #Alt #Alternative #ClassicRock #70s #80s #90s #Indie #Trivia #RockTrivia #RockBirthdays #NewMusic #NewMusicReleases 

The JournalFeed podcast for the week of 9-13, 2026.These are summaries from just 2 of the 5 articles we cover every week! For access to more, please visit JournalFeed.org for details about becoming a member.Wednesday's Spoon Feed:This multicenter RCT demonstrated that a short course of minocycline in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) resulted in improved functional neurologic outcomes at 90 days.Thursday's Spoon Feed:Tenecteplase administration up to 24 hours after onset of ischemic basilar artery stroke showed improved disability scores compared to standard medical treatment without an increase in adverse events.

The stroke guidelines just changed and it's exciting and nuanced! What you do in the first 30 minutes could drastically change your patient's outcome. In this episode, Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran, neurologist and chief writer of the new 2026 AHA Stroke Guidelines, explains what's changed and how these guidelines are changing practice at the bedside.Stroke treatment decisions are getting faster, more nuanced, and more imaging-driven. Inclusion/exclusion criteria and whether to give thrombolytics, who is a candidate for thrombectomy, and when to touch the blood pressure have all been updated. Know the updates before your next stroke alert!Topics discussed in this episode:Introducing the classic extended window patient caseThrombolytics vs. thrombectomy explainedEMS destination decision: Choosing primary vs. comprehensive stroke centerHow reperfusion time windows have changedAdvanced imaging: ASPECTS and thrombectomy eligibilityTreatment options for patients presenting outside of the 4.5 hr windowBlood pressure management recommendationsWhat nurses should do in the first 15-30 minutesLVO red flags at the bedsidePediatric ischemic strokeCheck out the new AHA Stroke Guidelines:https://newsroom.heart.org/news/new-guideline-expands-stroke-treatment-for-adults-offers-first-pediatric-stroke-guidanceMentioned in this episode:CONNECT

The SAVE America Act continues to own the news cycle, and activist Scott Presler breaks down what's in the bill and what isn't so that everyone can understand. Why can't Republicans communicate with such clarity? John Fetterman surprises two news babes by encouraging President Trump to kill every last member of the Iranian regime. We flash back to what Clinton, Bush and Obama all said about Iran and now have to ask.... what changed?   

To have Dr. Morse answer a question, visit: https://drmorses.tv/ask/ All of Dr. Morse's and his son's websites under one roof: https://handcrafted.health/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/handcrafted.health 00:00:00 -  Intro  00:08:01 - High Blood Pressure - Heart Condition - Major Stroke 00:29:56 - Stage 4B Endometrial cancer - Lymph Nodes 00:41:46 - GI Tract - Seborrheic Dermatitis - Pre-insulin Resistance - Low Energy 01:05:52 - Root Canal 01:17:53 -Type 2 Diabetes - Constipation - Anxiety - dry scalp, struggle to get to ideal weight 01:37:36 - Intense Lower back pains - Nutrients in Soil 00:08:01 - High Blood Pressure - Heart Condition - Major Stroke My sister had a major stroke in 2010, she can't talk but can make some sounds. 00:29:56 - Stage 4B Endometrial cancer - Lymph Nodes I also had blood clots in my lungs and now on blood thinners. 00:41:46 - GI Tract - Seborrheic Dermatitis - Pre-insulin Resistance - Low Energy Blood tests came back for prediabetic and polycystic ovaries. 01:05:52 - Root Canal I have three teeth that need work and I have to make a decision - root canals or extraction. 01:17:53 -Type 2 Diabetes - Constipation - Anxiety - dry scalp, struggle to get to ideal weight Are there other things I should add to address my adrenals or other issues? 01:37:36 - Intense Lower back pains - Nutrients in Soil Are frozen fruits almost as electric as fresh ones?

Welcome to the Run TMC podcast, Season 3, Episode 19  Heya, The Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 In this episode of The Run TMC podcast, we chat with veteran officials Nancy Clary and Mike Saia about the life of referees: evaluations, mechanics, managing coaches, and enforcing challenging rules like "the backcourt violation" and "flopping." This roundtable offers inside perspectives on why officials keep doing the job, how crews work, and tips for coaches and players to improve interactions with officials. Show Notes The Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 (G): Content is Mostly Global Interest Topics (M): Content is Mostly Inside Marin Topics Musical intro credit to Stroke 9//Logo credit to Katie Levine Content and opinions are those of Dave, Duffy and their guests and not of affiliated organizations or sponsors email us at: theruntmcpodcast@gmail.com follow us on Instagram @theruntmcpodcast check out our website at: theruntmcpodcast.com thank you to our sponsors: The Hub in San Anselmo Encore Custom Apparel online and in downtown San Rafael  Batiste Rhum  The Social Klub in Sausalito San Domenico Nike Summer Basketball Camps

Send a textA sudden stroke can upend a life in minutes, but the real story unfolds in the long, uneven days that follow. We sit down with Lana Wilhelm—retired nurse, author of Stroke and the Spouse and Stroke and the Caregiver—to explore the hard truths and hopeful practices that carry caregivers from shock to steady ground. Lana speaks candidly about how medical expertise couldn't prepare her for the emotional terrain of caring for her husband, the isolation that arrives after the hospital crowds thin, and the invisible deficits that make stroke recovery so misunderstood.Together, we unpack what the world often misses: not all progress is visible, “doing well” in public can mask deep daily strain, and protecting a loved one's dignity can chip away at your own reserves. Lana offers a compassionate reframe from caregiver to care partner, urging teamwork and clear boundaries that honor both survivor and supporter. We talk about finding purpose in small goals—like the first clean stir of coffee—using gratitude to retrain a fear-driven brain, and building a community that speaks caregiver fluently. Expect frank reflections on anger at God, the imperfect practice of surrender, and the surprising peace that follows when control loosens its grip.If you're navigating stroke recovery, dementia care, or any long-term caregiving season, this conversation brings practical strategies and soul-level validation: advocacy tips for clinic visits, ways to counter isolation, and rituals that create resilience day by day. We also point you to concrete resources, including Lana's books on Amazon and the Stroke Caregiver Connection, designed to answer real questions gathered from thousands of families. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help other caregivers find a lifeline. Your story matters—and you don't have to carry it alone.

Dr. Priyadarshee Patel, with Willis-Knighton Interventional and Vascular Neurology, joins Healthline 3 to discuss how to recognize and treat carotid artery disease.

Send a textDr. Michael Koren and Dr. Ravi Pande present What You Should Know about Strokes, including how high cholesterol and blood pressure can increase your risk. In this episode, recorded in front of a live audience, the two doctors discuss the BE FAST warning signs of a stroke and the importance of getting to an emergency room as fast as possible. Then they talk about treatment options, including new medications and guidelines that guide how doctors may use medications or rapid surgery to help preserve brain cells. Finally, the doctors emphasize the importance of prevention and how keeping blood pressure and cholesterol under control has measurable, positive impacts on stroke risk and recovery.Be a part of advancing science by participating in clinical research.Have a question for Dr. Koren? Email him at askDrKoren@MedEvidence.comListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTubeShare with a friend. Rate, Review, and Subscribe to the MedEvidence! podcast to be notified when new episodes are released.Follow us on Social Media:FacebookInstagramX (Formerly Twitter)LinkedInWant to learn more? Checkout our entire library of podcasts, videos, articles and presentations at www.MedEvidence.comMusic: Storyblocks - Corporate InspiredThank you for listening!

In this episode of the Heart podcast, Digital Media Editor, Professor James Rudd, is joined by Dr Robin Bouleau from Stockholm, Sweden. They discuss his study that aimed to test whether having PVCs but a normal heart was a risk for future AF and stroke. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a positive review wherever you get your podcasts. It helps us to reach more people - thanks! Link to published paper: https://heart.bmj.com/content/112/1/21.long

Return to Work After Stroke: How Marco Calabi Rebuilt His Career, His Purpose, and His Life At 47 years old, Marco Calabi was a DevOps engineer living in Italy – someone who spent his days automating systems, solving complex problems, and helping companies stop wasting time on repetitive tasks. He was healthy, working, paying bills, and spending time with friends. Life was normal. Then, without warning, everything changed. A small hole between the two chambers of Marco’s heart, a condition known as Patent Foramen Ovale, or PFO, had allowed blood flows to mix. A clot formed. It travelled to his brain. By the time his partner and sister realised something was terribly wrong, Marco was moving his arm involuntarily, unaware of what was happening to his own body. The emergency services were called twice. The second time, they came. Marco underwent eight hours of brain surgery. He was placed in a medically induced coma to allow his brain to rest. When he finally opened his eyes, he was on a hospital bed, and the road back had only just begun. The Reality of Stroke at 47 Marco woke from surgery to find the right side of his body had been affected. His arm, hand, and leg were weak. His speech was impaired. He left the hospital in a wheelchair. For many stroke survivors, this is the moment that defines everything that follows, not the stroke itself, but the first honest look at what recovery is actually going to require. “In the beginning, I was helped in everything,” Marco recalls. “They prepared my lunch. They helped me go to the bathroom. My family never left me alone.” His mother, his partner, his sister, and a close friend in the Netherlands all rallied around him. At home, physiotherapists and local health professionals visited him directly, a level of care he describes as incredible. Step by step, he began to reclaim his independence. First, the bathroom. Then the kitchen. Then the stairs. Each small act of autonomy arrived with a feeling he hadn’t expected: power. “You feel good because you think you have power again,” he says. “It is a very important moment.” Return to Work After Stroke: Why It Matters For working-age stroke survivors, the question of whether they can return to work after stroke is one of the most pressing they face. Identity, purpose, financial security, and routine work carry all of these things, and a stroke threatens all of them at once. For Marco, returning to work wasn’t just a financial necessity. It was evidence that his life still had forward momentum. He went back to his role as a DevOps and Site Reliability Engineer, initially working six hours a day instead of eight. The work itself, automating processes and improving systems, remained the same. Only the pace had changed. “I do the same things, but with different speeds,” he says simply. That shift in pace is something many stroke survivors recognise. Recovery doesn’t demand perfection. It demands persistence. “The right moment is now. Not after, not tomorrow, not next week. Now.” — Marco Calabi Recovery Happens in Steps One of the most grounded things Marco shares is this: recovery cannot be rushed. “The experience is made of steps,” he says. “You must live every step. The first steps are physical. And then your mind changes. But you must let yourself be.” This is the part that rarely gets talked about openly. The pressure to recover quickly — to prove to yourself, your family, and your employer that you are still capable — can work against the very process you are trying to complete. Marco’s advice is to resist the urge to skip ahead. Physical recovery comes first. Mental and emotional transformation follows naturally from there. Trying to rush past the physical phase doesn’t speed up recovery. It disrupts it. The Book, the Purpose, and the Shift Deep into his recovery, Marco did something unexpected. He wrote a book. Cambio di Vita, translated into English as Life Change: To Hell and Back, is his account of what happened, what he felt, and what he learned. Available on Amazon in digital and paperback. Writing started as a personal exercise. Somewhere in the process, its purpose shifted. “I said, my story is useless in this moment. I can make something,” Marco explains. “And so the book has another meaning to share.” For a man who had always found purpose through his career, the stroke opened an unexpected door. Helping others became a new calling. Speaking engagements, podcasts, and community conversations, Marco has built a new layer of meaning onto the life he already had. His best friend told him he had become wiser. His own reflection on what changed is striking: “Heartlessness is useless. You reach the hearts of people with softness.” What Stroke Taught Him About Life Perhaps the most powerful thing about Marco’s story is not what he lost, but what he found. He found that the right moment is always now, not when conditions are perfect, not when recovery is complete, but right now, with whatever capacity you currently have. He found that family and friends matter more than most of us acknowledge until we truly need them. He found that purpose doesn’t require a perfect body or a full working week. It requires a decision. If you are navigating life after stroke, wondering whether you can return to work, rebuild your identity, or find meaning in what remains, Marco’s story is proof that it is possible. Not easy. Not fast. But absolutely possible. If you are rebuilding your life after stroke and want a guide for the journey ahead, Bill’s book The Unexpected Way That a Brain Injury Can Change Your Life is waiting for you at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. If this podcast has supported you, consider supporting it back at Patreon. Your contribution keeps this community growing. FAQ: Return to Work After Stroke Can you return to work after a stroke? Yes, many stroke survivors do return to work, though the timeline and capacity vary depending on the severity of the stroke, the type of work, and individual recovery. Marco Calabi returned to his role as a DevOps engineer, initially working six hours a day instead of eight. The key is a gradual, supported transition. How long does it take to return to work after a stroke? Recovery timelines vary widely. Some survivors return within weeks; others need months or years. Factors include the type and severity of stroke, the physical and cognitive demands of the job, and the quality of rehabilitation support. There is no universal timeline. Patience and persistence matter more than speed. What can I expect when returning to work after a stroke? Many survivors return at reduced hours or modified duties. Adjustments to pace, task complexity, or physical demands are common. Open communication with employers and occupational therapists can help structure a gradual, sustainable return. Marco worked six-hour days and describes it simply: “I do the same things, but with different speeds.” Does returning to work help stroke recovery? For many survivors, returning to work contributes positively to recovery, providing routine, purpose, social connection, and a sense of forward momentum. Marco Calabi describes his return to work as evidence that life still had forward momentum. However, the timing must be right, and the transition should be gradual. What if I can’t return to my previous job after a stroke? Some survivors find that stroke opens doors to new kinds of purpose volunteering, writing, advocacy, or a different career direction. Marco Calabi used his recovery to write a book and speak to others about life after stroke. The key is finding what gives you meaning, even if it looks different from before. For more guidance on rebuilding life after stroke, visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book. This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Marco Calabi — From Induced Coma to Back at Work: A Stroke Survivor's Honest Recovery Story At 47, Marco Calabi had a stroke caused by a hole in his heart. Today he's back at work, has written a book, and is helping others go on. Marco’s Facebook Marco’s Instagram Marco’s Book: Life Change Highlights: 00:00 Introduction: Return to Work After Stroke 02:27 Life Before and After the Stroke 05:23 Health Awareness and Stroke Causes 09:22 The Day of the Stroke 15:02 Writing the book “Life Change: To Hell and Back” 27:51 The Importance of Support During Recovery 33:15 Gaining Autonomy and Finding Purpose 39:14 The Power of Mindset in Recovery 43:24 Life Lessons Learned Post-Stroke 47:24 Inspiring Others Through Personal Experience Transcript: Introduction: Return to Work After Stroke Bill Gasiamis (00:00) what kind of things is okay to complain about? Like in Italy, if the pasta is not cooked al dente, you must complain. Marco Calabi (00:07) Okay, yeah. Okay, yes, yes. Bill Gasiamis (00:08) you Marco Calabi (00:13) Okay, but you complain, you learn to complain about very important things. Bill Gasiamis (00:24) Hello everyone and welcome to the recovery after stroke podcast. Before we get into today’s episode, I want to tell you about a tool I’ve been using and genuinely love turn to.ai. If you’ve ever tried to keep up with the latest stroke research, you’ll know how overwhelming it can be. There are literally 800 new things published every single week about stroke research papers, patient discussions, expert comments, clinical trials, events. Nobody has time to read all of that. Turn2.ai is an AI health sidekick that does it for you. It searches everything published in the past week and sends you what’s most relevant to your situation personalized every week straight to you. It’s my favorite new tool for 2026. It’s just $2 a week, patient first, low cost. And here’s what I love about this. When you sign up through my link, you’re supporting this podcast at absolutely no extra cost to you. Use code Bill10 for 10 % off and try it free at the link below or scan the QR code on your screen. Speaking of resources, if you’re rebuilding your life after stroke and want a roadmap for what comes next, my book, The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing to Happen is available at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. It’s written from experience, my own and other stroke survivors. And I hope it helps you the way writing it helped me. And to everyone supporting the show Patreon, thank you genuinely. This is not possible without you. Now today’s guest is Marco Calabi, a DevOps engineer from Italy who had a stroke at 47 caused by a hole in his heart. He went through eight hours of brain surgery, wake up from a medically induced coma, left hospital in a wheelchair and went on to return to work, write a book, and find a new sense of purpose. This is a remarkable conversation. Let’s get into it. Bill Gasiamis (02:18) Marco Calabi welcome to the podcast Marco Calabi (02:21) Yes, I’m ready and thank you for your invitation. Life Before and After the Stroke Bill Gasiamis (02:27) Tell me a little bit about what your life was like before you had the stroke. Marco Calabi (02:33) Yes, before my stroke, my life was normal, I say. Working, paying bills, going outside with friends and so on. After the stroke, everything changed because… Bill Gasiamis (02:53) Yeah. Did you have a, what kind of work did you do before the stroke? Marco Calabi (02:58) Before the stroke, even after the stroke, I work ⁓ in computer science field. I’m a DevOps engineer. And after the stroke, I work a little less. Six hours, I can do eight hours before the stroke. But I do the same things. I do normal things. project something about I’m very, very, very vertical in this moment. I work in a site, the reliability engineer field. my aim is to help this system to service. to automate things. And I’m like a robot. I like a robot. Bill Gasiamis (04:05) to automate. To automate things. So, okay, to automate manual processes or something like that. Marco Calabi (04:10) ⁓ so pretty. Yes, yes, I try to automate everything because the people, the company now try to avoid to make the people to repeating things. because you want people… make more important things and the repeating things are not very important. in my opinion, diminishing view of the work. And I try to make the things better in some way. before the soak and even after the soak. I do the same things but with different speeds. Health Awareness and Stroke Causes Bill Gasiamis (05:23) Yeah. With you regards to your health, how did you view your health before the stroke? Did you think you were healthy? Did you think you were well, or was there some things that you were dealing with that were related to the stroke that occurred? Marco Calabi (05:38) Yes, before the stroke I was healthy, but I was very worried about my health because I found a lot of health problems in my body, but the problems were not there. because after the stroke, I did understand I was healthy in that moment. And the stroke teached me to understand my health better. yes, yes, yes. Bill Gasiamis (06:30) You were heavy? Marco Calabi (06:37) because I went out from the hospital with wheelchair. And now I’m able to walk. Bill Gasiamis (06:51) Aha. So were you overweight? Marco Calabi (06:56) No, no, I’m not. I had a stroke maybe because the doctors doesn’t know the motive. Perhaps, perhaps it was a genetic problem in my heart because of FOP, because a small all between the two chambers in my heart. And the mixing of the two flow bloods makes problems to the brain. And after the stroke, ⁓ the stroke happened. But I… Bill Gasiamis (07:51) Yeah, did they? Did they find a hole in your heart? Marco Calabi (07:55) Yes, yes, and I was operated in my heart. Closing, yes, closing the hole because people suffer this common problem. But sometimes the problem is huge. A lot of people… Bill Gasiamis (08:01) to fix the hull. ⁓ huh. Hmm. Marco Calabi (08:25) don’t suffer major problems. But sometimes it is very, very important. In my case, was very, very important because it created the mixing of the blood flows, created ⁓ a blood costrain. to the brain and the platypus brain ⁓ created a stroke. It is the opinion of the doctors. Bill Gasiamis (09:04) on the How old were you at the time? Marco Calabi (09:10) I softened the stroke at 47 and now I’m 51 years old. Yes. The Day of the Stroke Bill Gasiamis (09:22) 41, 47 when the stroke happened. On the day of the stroke, did you notice there was some, something wrong? Did you feel strange, feel different? Marco Calabi (09:31) Yes, during the stroke it was terrible because I did a lot. My mate called the emergency number and they thought it was a problem of annotation. the neck. And my sister, because my brother called my sister, and my sister came into my house and she understood something was wrong, because I moved my arm in the air. Bill Gasiamis (10:02) Mm-hmm. Marco Calabi (10:30) And I had, sorry, because remembering these things makes me a little uncomfortable. yes, but okay. And my sister, together with my mate, decided to call again the Belgics. and then they went to buy house and my story began. Bill Gasiamis (11:14) Hmm. So I’m going to go back for a moment and ask you about what just happened. You got uncomfortable. it emotional to talk about what happened to you sometimes? Marco Calabi (11:23) Yes, yes, yes, because I know I never accepted this thing I’m living together with it but yes, because yes, yes, because I think Bill Gasiamis (11:42) Uh-huh. You haven’t accepted it yet. Marco Calabi (11:52) I will never accept this thing. But I try to go on. I try. Bill Gasiamis (12:01) Why? Why do you think you won’t accept it? And is that helpful to not accept it? Marco Calabi (12:08) Because it is very hard to accept. Because it is not normal, in my opinion, to accept the bad things in life. ⁓ We must live together with them. Because… because we must live and stop. But living gains understanding is very different. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (12:48) If you’ve chosen to live with it and overcome the challenges that it gives, isn’t that a form of acceptance? Marco Calabi (12:58) Maybe. is, in my opinion, it is a form of acceptance. Because sooner or later I make something, I do something. And my father said it is useless to look through the ceiling. And it is a big truth. It is useless. Your life is in your hands. And you in that moment, your life is a lot in your hands. And you must decide your future because No people are able to help you. No other people, friends, family, relatives, and so on. You must do only with your strength and soul. Bill Gasiamis (14:18) Yeah. And to me, that sounds like acceptance. You have taken responsibility for the ⁓ recovery that you have to do. You’ve taken responsibility for your life. You’ve made steps to rehabilitate yourself, your emotions, your mental health. You wrote a book about what happened to you. And that sounds like you have accepted a lot of what happened to you, even though perhaps what it sounds like you’re saying maybe, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, it sounds like you’re saying, ⁓ I’m not going to give up. Writing the book “Life Change: To Hell and Back” Marco Calabi (15:02) Yes, yes, because I wrote a book because I followed a possible path because it was a path of recovering not only physical recovering but mainly mental recovery and writing the book was very helpful for me. And I hope it is helpful for others. Because in the beginning, I wrote the book because I tried to tell my story. And then I said, my story is useless. in this moment. I can make something. And so the book has another meaning. And because I want in this way to help, to share, to share. It is the right word. to share my experience. Not to… to share. To share. Bill Gasiamis (16:36) Yeah. Life change to hell and back is the English title, but you wrote the book in Italian and then had it translated to English. Correct. Marco Calabi (16:45) Yes, yes. In Italian, it is called Cambio di Vita. And in English, is ⁓ called Life Change. And to hell and back is the subtitle, because I went to tell. it was an help for me and perhaps I come back to tell to share to the others what I saw and what I did feel and I hope this experience will help in some way other people. Bill Gasiamis (17:17) Mm-hmm. Understand. Your journey started after the second time the emergency services were called to your house. What happened after that? Did they come to your house and then they took you to hospital? Did they treat you at your house? What happened? Marco Calabi (17:59) No, no, the physiotherapist and the therapist went to my house because I was not able to go to the hospital again. And then Italian hospitals decided to come directly. to my house and help me in my house. And so physiotherapists and local beauties, they were incredible. They were very, very professional and very, very helpful for me. Helped me to recover a little my body. in my speech. Bill Gasiamis (18:59) Before the recovery, I just wanted to understand what happened when you were having the stroke, the day of the stroke. your sister called the emergency services a second time. Did they take you to hospital to understand what was wrong? Marco Calabi (19:14) Yes. Yes, and I was operated immediately because my brain started to grow. And then I was operated because they didn’t want to… Bill Gasiamis (19:23) huh. Expand. Marco Calabi (19:47) to have to experience later problems. And they operated to me for eight hours. And then I was inducted with a comma. because my brain needed to rest. And then I woke up on a bed looking around and seeing people. And I remember I remembered a woman said, it is time to walk. And with a lot of difficulty, I started to walk. And then I was transferred to another hospital. to specialize ⁓ in stroke recovering. And there I was there for two months. Bill Gasiamis (21:10) Mm-hmm. And what were the deficits you needed to get rehabilitated from? Did you have problems with your body, with your limbs, with your, what was the problem? Marco Calabi (21:27) Problems with the walk, problems with the speaker. a problem to it because I was, I don’t know, it is visible. Yes, yes, because during the search they opened a hole. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (21:47) ⁓ trick you trick you asked me Marco Calabi (22:05) And then the wall remains open for all of that time. And then I was eliminated from this wall. And one month later, the wall was… All was closed. Bill Gasiamis (22:36) Okay, so you had the chocostomy in for a long time and ⁓ they removed the chocostomy, then the hole is there, takes a month to close. Marco Calabi (22:39) Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. And my mate says it seems a cross. I don’t know, I don’t. Okay, Why not? Bill Gasiamis (22:56) It seems across. ⁓ Why not? Yeah. So, so you had to also learn to walk again, which side of your body was impacted by the stroke, which one was it your left side or your right side that didn’t work. Marco Calabi (23:14) my right side my right side my leg my arms my arms my hands and okay all the right side and ⁓ i am weaker to the right side and okay Bill Gasiamis (23:16) Mm-hmm. Waker. Marco Calabi (23:38) In the beginning, I was not able to write. And then after a long, very long training, I am able to write again. Very, very slowly, but I am able. Bill Gasiamis (24:00) Mm hmm. And when you were in hospital, what was the hardest part of the recovery for you? Did you, when you started walking again, what was that like? Marco Calabi (24:14) In the hospital, never stop, always on the wheelchair. And I stop when I come back home. But yes. No, no, no, no. Bill Gasiamis (24:38) You stood up when you came back home, but in rehabilitation, you didn’t stand up. Marco Calabi (24:44) very very sad. very very sad. ⁓ Above all in the transportation for example from the wheelchair to the bed or do an exercise bicycle maybe but stop stop stop. ⁓ I remembered sometimes they tried to make me walk on the stairs, very, very, very few stairs, and tried to make ⁓ me walk in corridors and stuff. Bill Gasiamis (25:48) Okay and your arm, your right arm, you couldn’t use it at the shoulder and the hand, is that what the problem was? Marco Calabi (25:58) Yeah, I can use it. I can use it. It is weaker. A little weaker. But I can use it in this moment. When I was in the hospital, my right arm had problems. Because ⁓ the mobility was limited. And after two months, I was able to move it freely. And now I’m able to move it again in every direction. Bill Gasiamis (26:49) Hmm. ⁓ Very good. When you came home from hospital, who was at home with you? Were you living alone or did you have some family with you? Marco Calabi (26:58) No, no, no, with my family, with my sister and with my mate because my sister and my mate never leave me alone. Leave me alone. they encouraged me. Thanks God because… ⁓ I think in this moment, family, friends, relatives, mates are very, very important. Above all, in this moment. Bill Gasiamis (27:44) Was there somebody that helped guide you through the recovery? Someone that stepped up and you had a lot of support from? The Importance of Support During Recovery Marco Calabi (27:51) My Yes, my friends. Above all, one of my friends who lives in the Netherlands because he was very worried about my health. And my bait talked to him to synchronize him about my condition and after and when I went back home he was very very very present and he was very very he was a very good friend. Bill Gasiamis (28:52) understand. So he came, supported you, was very present when you came back home. Yeah. Marco Calabi (29:00) Yes, yes, yes. Above all, my mom, my sister, my baby, obviously, my friends. Because in this moment, it is a moment you understand very well the friends. more close in the friends maybe, ⁓ maybe are fearful of your situation. Bill Gasiamis (29:44) Yes, yes, very much. Lots of people get fearful ⁓ when somebody they know how to stroke, they don’t know how to help and what to do. Marco Calabi (29:53) Yes, because I think it is natural. I understand it is natural because the first thing a friend, a person who knows you in things is what I can do. And she is very fearful because the situation is huge. And I understand in this moment, in that moment, you understand very well the people. And you understand very well the quality. Bill Gasiamis (30:39) Yes. Marco Calabi (30:46) Yes, you are the same. You are the same. Bill Gasiamis (30:47) your friends. Yeah, very common, very common. Doesn’t matter if you live in Italy, America, Australia, experience is very similar. People have very similar ⁓ reporting about friendships. Marco Calabi (30:59) Yes, I don’t think it is different from country to country because we are human being and stop and and stop. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (31:08) you People are people. What kind of things did you need help with at home? Could you go to the bathroom on your own? Could you eat on your own? What help was your family providing you? Marco Calabi (31:28) Yes, in the beginning I was helped in everything because they prepared my lunch, ⁓ they helped me to go to the bathroom, they face outside the door, checking the situation. Okay, okay, okay. I understand, okay. And then, with time, I conquered my autonomy. Because, for example, going to the bathroom, cooking something. Bill Gasiamis (31:58) Thank God. Thanks a lot. Marco Calabi (32:22) and doing my pet and so on. It is very important because in these moments you say to yourself, I’m able again. My life is not useless. It is silly to say. I know. It is very, very silly to say. But… Bill Gasiamis (32:54) in the moment, it’s probably okay in the moment, but now on reflection, it’s silly to say that, but at the moment it’s difficult and it’s a emotional experience and it’s a relief that you have and you have some autonomy now again, and you feel good about it. So yeah. Gaining Autonomy and Finding Purpose Marco Calabi (33:01) Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, you feel good because you think you have a power again. I don’t know. And it is a moment. It is a very important moment for you. I understand. I understand the luckiness. able to know because other people ⁓ has no luck ⁓ like me. Like me. And I understand. And this thing makes me run because, OK, I’m lucky and so I want Bill Gasiamis (33:55) Mm-hmm. Marco Calabi (34:11) I want to help others because I’m black. And so. Bill Gasiamis (34:16) Yes, have luck. You have a bit of luck on your side. You are improving. You’re getting better. You have autonomy. Again, you want to help other people because it’s important. Marco Calabi (34:25) Yes, very. In my opinion, it is very, very important because life otherwise is meaningless. you have to give some meaning to your life. And the stroke in some way helped me to discover my possible goal in my life. Bill Gasiamis (34:44) Yeah. calling in life, understand. So you didn’t get married, you didn’t have a family. Marco Calabi (35:09) No, I never married, but I have made a girlfriend for, I don’t know, 11, 12 years. We are like married. No, no, no, no. Bill Gasiamis (35:28) Okay, but you didn’t have children. Okay. So for you made a good point about purpose and meaning in life and helping other people. If you’re, if you don’t have family to, ⁓ fuss over to ⁓ to help out, to support, et cetera, when they’re young, like children, it could be a little bit of a gap in your life about purpose and meaning. And now that you had the stroke, you found that supporting other people provides you with some additional purpose and meaning above your relationship as well with your partner. Marco Calabi (35:50) Yes. Yes. Yes, because not ⁓ having keys makes me available, let me see, help others who have keys and maybe ⁓ they are busy, too busy. Bill Gasiamis (36:22) Yeah. Marco Calabi (36:35) for other things and I try to make ⁓ my life helpful for those ones. Bill Gasiamis (36:46) Yeah, you have more spare time and you can allocate that to helping other people. Yeah. So, you know, the Marco Calabi (36:50) Yes, yes, yes, yes. Bill Gasiamis (36:59) You talk very positively about your recovery. You’re focusing on all the positive things. You wrote a book. You want to help other people. But was there some times that you really struggled, that you had a really hard time and you needed more support emotionally or mentally? Marco Calabi (37:18) both of things. I had ⁓ moments with a lot of climate. Bill Gasiamis (37:21) Both. crying, yeah, very common. Marco Calabi (37:32) because ⁓ in those moments I was ⁓ I saw my life had problems. And for example, my mother’s teach me again ⁓ to wake on the shoes. And so in that moment, I… was I was ⁓ I… ⁓ I understood my situation very deeply. And why I wanted to prove it? Because every day I wanted to go on and every day I wanted to progress because I don’t want to live was moments again. I would like to make my life better. Bill Gasiamis (39:06) Uh-huh. Understand. Yeah. But it was difficult to make your life better because you’re just in the recovery phase. You’re very restricted. Things are difficult. The Power of Mindset in Recovery Marco Calabi (39:14) Yes. It is very, very, important the presence of your family, of your friends, because otherwise I would not be here. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (39:40) Yeah, that helped to bring you back. Marco Calabi (39:41) Yes, yes. And then after their help, you must help yourself. Because I understand, I understand you have everything to complain, but complaining is useless. It’s useless. Bill Gasiamis (39:54) as well. Marco Calabi (40:09) Complaining is natural, but it must be very short. A moment of self-reflection, a moment and stop. And then you must do something for yourself and stop. Stop to look to the ceiling. This useless. I wanted to say this useless. Bill Gasiamis (40:45) Yeah, I agree. But it’s something we all do. We all find ourselves complaining about our situation, but as long as you don’t stay there for a long amount of time, you can do the complaint and then move on and continue looking at things that you… Marco Calabi (40:57) Hmm. Hmm. Yes, Complaining is not a part, it’s a mainly part of my spirit. I complain ⁓ very, very few times. I understand people are different and the complaining is different, but… You must very, very, very aware of your situation and this stroke maybe makes you aware, more aware about yourself, about your problems, about your weakness and starting, starting, I interline, starting. from that you can go on. Bill Gasiamis (42:04) You can go on. Yeah, I agree. When you complain about things, like what kind of things is okay to complain about? Like in Italy, if the pasta is not cooked al dente, you must complain. Marco Calabi (42:23) Okay, yeah. Okay, yes, yes. Bill Gasiamis (42:24) you It’s important. You have to tell the chef, I’m sorry, the pasta is not al dente. You have to take it back. Marco Calabi (42:35) Okay, but you complain, you learn to complain about very important things. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (42:46) Yes, it’s feedback. It’s not complaining. It’s feedback. My food is not al dente and I need you to make it again so I can eat it because I can’t eat like this. It’s too cooked. Marco Calabi (42:51) What? I never was, I never liked a very, very precious food and I ate everything. I tasted everything, I ate everything. Even in the hospital, I ate everything. Life Lessons Learned Post-Stroke Bill Gasiamis (43:24) Is Italian hospital food good or is it terrible? Marco Calabi (43:31) It is a hospital book. And so it is very light. It is very, very, very simple. And it is very teachable. it is not a good book. Bill Gasiamis (43:43) Yeah. Yeah. You spoke a little bit earlier about how you have to go on with your life. So looking back now, how have you changed the way that you go about your life? How do you do things differently now? Marco Calabi (44:15) everything, everything, everything. I looked at the life in different way because I put the things in different priorities, working, having good time with friends and so on. Because before stroke you… to think about the things you do every day, but you don’t do that. Those ones. Then after the stroke, you start to do immediately the things. You don’t want to wait for things, the right moment and stop. Because the right moment, you understand, is now, not after, not tomorrow, not the next week. Now, it is a new way of singing life. You stop to wake because you understand time is very very precious. Bill Gasiamis (45:50) Yeah, and we may not have tomorrow. Understand. Marco Calabi (45:53) Yes, yes, you must do the things now and stop. As you can. You must not be a Superman. You must not do ⁓ things, a lot of things. You must do what you can and stop. But you must do. Bill Gasiamis (46:24) Yeah. Marco Calabi (46:25) and stop. Not tomorrow, not in one week, and not in one month. Now. You must do now. And stop. Never you understand, never stop you. Bill Gasiamis (46:47) Yeah, I agree. Once you have a stroke, you realize that you are mortal and that maybe you don’t have… Marco Calabi (46:53) It’s just… Bill Gasiamis (46:58) another 50 years or 40 years ahead of you. maybe you need to do, take more action, do more things, have the experiences you want to experience, whatever you can, I agree. ⁓ It’s something I think that is a good way to inspire people who have had a stroke, who have injuries, that you can find a way to do something that you want to do that you haven’t done. Inspiring Others Through Personal Experience Marco Calabi (47:24) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (47:24) that you love. very important to try and get it done, find a way to make it happen. Even if you’re in a wheelchair, even if it’s difficult, even if you need a lot of planning, you know, has to be something that you tick, you tick off your list of things to do. Marco Calabi (47:42) And it is not important what type of disease you suffer, cancer, stroke, leukemia, so on. It is, in my opinion, very important your mind, the way your mind, the way… Bill Gasiamis (48:10) your minds. Marco Calabi (48:10) want you, your mindset, the way you want to go on and stop. But I want, I want, I want to tell my story. Maybe, tell. If I am able to go on, everyone is able to go on. Bill Gasiamis (48:19) Yeah. Marco Calabi (48:41) It is not something special. Everyone can go to work and so Bill Gasiamis (48:51) Yeah, I agree. Everyone should go on with their life in some capacity as much as they can. ⁓ Yeah, that’s excellent. What about strengths? What have you discovered in yourself that you didn’t know was there? Did you uncover some new powers, some new strength, some better understanding of what you’re capable of? Has it been a learning experience for you to Marco Calabi (49:05) Okay. Yes. Yes, after the writing of my books was a moment of reflection because in that moment I asked to myself, I’m able to write a book, so what can block me? And in this moment, in that moment, I was able to do other things. Maybe here write another book, like choosing a social media manager for my Facebook and Instagram and asking. to hospitals and associations to tell my stories, creating podcasts and so on because writing the book created a moment, a precise moment of going forward. And in that moment, I aware. of my powers and my skills to go on. It was… Bill Gasiamis (51:02) Yeah. Yeah. You wrote a book, you did podcasts, you helped your community by speaking. You did all these things that you haven’t done before the stroke. Marco Calabi (51:10) Yes. Yes, and for example, now I’m discussing with a company for a possible speech of myself to inspire other people. And I’m telling the truth. I’m very, very happy because I hope this… Bill Gasiamis (51:30) Yeah. Marco Calabi (51:41) will ⁓ create something beautiful because I’m available to tell my story, to sell, perhaps something helpful. My best friend. Bill Gasiamis (52:01) Yeah, you know what I like about what I like about strokes and bio-codes? Sorry, go ahead. Marco Calabi (52:08) My best friend said, you are wiser. I don’t know. don’t know. I don’t know. Yes, yes. Before, was very hard. I was very, because my father was very hard. And I learned. Bill Gasiamis (52:19) Wiser. Wiser than before. Maybe. Marco Calabi (52:37) to be very hard. after the stroke, understood that heartless is useless because you reach the hearts of people with softness, not with heartlessness. Heartlessness makes ⁓ you more hateful. and not more lovable. Bill Gasiamis (53:10) Yeah, understand. Yes, I agree. Very wise. That’s very wise. Very wise. ⁓ You know what I like about your telling your story in for another organization or to inspire people is a lot of the people in the audience will not have had a stroke or another health issue or anything like that. Marco Calabi (53:11) Go on, go on, sorry. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (53:37) And what I like about it is that now there’s several years have passed since your stroke. So you’re standing on a stage telling your story. And one day, if those people happen to have a stroke or a negative medical experience, they have a picture in their mind of once upon a time, I was sitting in a room and there was this gentleman who… told his story and he was telling us about how he overcame his challenges, how he ⁓ improved, how he got better. And maybe those people who are unwell now because something happened to them, like everybody in life, things go wrong. Maybe they could say, I remember that man and the story that he told me, and maybe I can take some action and do similar things and get better. Marco Calabi (54:27) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (54:32) like he did. Marco Calabi (54:32) Yes. I tell the truth. It is not easy. It’s not easy. The experience is made of steps. In steps, steps. In the beginning, I… Bill Gasiamis (54:50) steps. Marco Calabi (54:58) You want to prove yourself, you are able to do things. And these are very important to you. And then you change. Steps, you change. Because the situation is changing. And you cannot, cannot, get things before you experience all the steps. It is, in my opinion, impossible. You must live every step. The first steps are physical. And then your mind changes. But the first steps are physical and soft. and you can you must you must us us us let that eat you must us let you be because you are not a superman you are not a special man and every every person experience these steps little by little and so you must aware of this situation. Otherwise, try to go forward faster. And in my opinion, it is a very wrong way to go on. Bill Gasiamis (56:55) Very wise, my friend. Marco Calabi (56:56) Thank you, thank you! Thank you, thank you! Bill Gasiamis (57:03) Your friend was correct when he said that you are much more wise now. I agree with him. Marco Calabi (57:07) Okay, okay, okay. I will report you. Bill Gasiamis (57:15) Report back to him, let him know that I agree with him. Now, your book is available online, correct? We can get it on Amazon, everywhere. Marco Calabi (57:21) Yes. Okay. Because in Italy, ⁓ I found a publisher. In the world, I decided to publish myself the book because I wanted to spread my story. as full as possible, I would say. And so I think what is the best platform, in my opinion, it is in this moment, Amazon. Because it can provide a digital version, paper version. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (58:07) Yeah. Marco Calabi (58:18) is only for US countries and so on. Instead, digital fashion is worldwide. And so, it is very powerful because I can reach every person in the world. Bill Gasiamis (58:44) Yes, hopefully. Marco Calabi (58:45) It was my idea. And I started and I make my book translated. I published it in Amazon. I created a digital paperback version and so on because I wanted to make it available. Very, very much. Bill Gasiamis (59:19) Yes, indeed. you have well done. I’m going to have a link to the Amazon ⁓ book. And also you will send me some links to ⁓ any other areas you would like us to send people if they’re interested to find out more information about it. I thank you for reaching out and joining me on the podcast. I very much appreciate it. It’s nice to meet you and to hear your story and all the best with your ongoing recovery. Marco Calabi (59:24) Okay. Okay. Thanks. Yes. Okay, and I say thank you, thank you, Bayard for your time, people, and thank you very much to tell my story and to give me the possibility to tell my story. Bill Gasiamis (1:00:08) Well, what a lovely conversation and what a journey and what wisdom to our listeners. If today’s episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. Leave a comment and leave a review. Subscribe if you haven’t already. Marco’s book, Life Change to Hell and Back is available on Amazon. The link is in the description below. And remember, if you want to stay on top of the latest stroke research without the overwhelm, turnto.ai has you covered. just $2 a week use code bill for 10 % off. Link is in the description And until next time, keep going. The post Return to Work After Stroke – Marco Calabi’s Honest Recovery Story appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

Chime In, Send Us a Text Message!On Episode 90, co-hosts David Dansereau and Michael Garrow reconnect to reflect on a year of progress in stroke advocacy, support systems, community engagement and Mike shares his 'Magic Wand' answer.  Mike describes his transition from the basketball court to the volunteer work he does today for stroke advocacy. The co-hosts talk how music resonates, discuss innovative models for support groups, the impact of conferences like ISC for stroke survivors and care partners, and envision future pathways for post-stroke care and community support.Key Topics CoveredThe role of community, stroke support organizations and grassroots efforts in stroke recoveryInnovations and Mike's insights from ISC 2026 ConferenceThe importance of structured post-stroke support and fundingDigital technology's impact on stroke care pathways as well as the vital role of smaller local community connectionsStroke support group models inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous from Mike's Magic Wand Support Our Show! Thank you for helping us to continue to make great content. We appreciate your generosity! DRYYP SaunaFind out more about Mike's new business venture, DRYYP Sauna.Stroke Support Organization (SSO) SurveyIf you support stroke survivors and care partners-please take this survey!Get Our NewsGet Our Latest News and Show Updates on SubstackDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showShow credits:Music intro credit to Jake Dansereau. Our intro welcome is the voice of Caroline Goggin, a stroke survivor and our first podcast guest! Please listen to her inspiring story on Episode 2 of the podcast.Connect with Us and Share our Show on Social:Website | Linkedin | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | SubstackKnow Stroke Podcast Disclaimer: Our podcast and media advertising services are for informational purposes only and do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get Our Podcast News Updates on Substack

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, affecting ~37.6 million people globally, with prevalence expected to double in the coming decades.    A recent Lancet Seminar (2026) highlights several key principles shaping modern AF care:   • Stroke prevention with oral anticoagulation remains the cornerstone • Early rhythm control strategies improve cardiovascular outcomes • Catheter ablation is increasingly used as first-line therapy • Lifestyle modification—weight loss, exercise, alcohol reduction—reduces AF burden • Integrated care models such as the ABC pathway and AF-CARE improve outcomes   The future of AF management is holistic, preventive, and patient-centred.   #Cardiology #AtrialFibrillation #StrokePrevention #Electrophysiology #PrecisionMedicine

Title: How Kids Heal After Stroke with Arpita Lakhotia, M.D. Join us for a conversation with pediatric neurologist Arpita Lakhotia, M.D., director of the Norton Children's Stroke Clinic. Dr. Lakhotia unpacks what life after a pediatric stroke really looks like. She breaks down the recovery journey for children who've experienced stroke, exploring how early recognition, rapid response and a tailored multidisciplinary plan can make all the difference in a child's long-term outcome. You'll hear real-world strategies to help maximize progress through therapy, including physical, occupational and speech support, and how resilience and neuroplasticity work together to unlock healing in young brains. Children's stroke recovery is unique and deeply personal, and Dr. Lakhotia offers clear, compassionate guidance for families navigating each step of that journey. Whether you're a caregiver seeking practical tools for home support, a survivor's family member adjusting to post-stroke life or someone wanting to understand how pediatric stroke care really works, this conversation delivers hope, expertise and actionable insights. From building strength and confidence in daily routines to working with schools and therapy teams, we dive into ways families can empower their children through recovery while fostering emotional resilience and quality of life. Don't miss this deeply informative discussion that blends knowledge with heart — because every child's recovery story matters.   Want more inspiring stories and real-life resources? Subscribe and share "Stronger After Stroke" with someone who needs a little extra support navigating life after stroke. For more support after stroke, check out the programs available online and in person through  Norton Neuroscience Institute Resource Centers: https://nortonhealthcare.com/services-and-conditions/neurosciences/patient-resources/resource-center/ If you enjoyed this podcast, listen to Norton Healthcare's "MedChat" podcast, available in your favorite podcast app. "MedChat" provides continuing medical education on the go and is targeted toward physicians and clinicians. Norton Healthcare, a not-for-profit health care system, is a leader in serving adult and pediatric patients throughout Greater Louisville, Southern Indiana, the commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond. A strong research program provides access to clinical trials in a multitude of areas. More information about Norton Healthcare is available at NortonHealthcare.com.   Date of original release: March 9, 2026

Listener feedback, urgent AF ablation, AF ablation as a stroke-reducing therapy, implantable loop recorder accuracy, and HF management in the setting of serious disease are the topics John Mandrola, MD, discusses in this week's podcast. This podcast is intended for healthcare professionals only. To read a partial transcript or to comment, visit: https://www.medscape.com/twic I Urgent AF ablations Urgent vs Elective AF Ablation in the US  https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.12.030 II AF Ablation Is Not Likely a Good Therapy for Stroke Reduction STABLED Trial https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2845745 Catheter Ablation for AF Associated With Lower Incidence of Stroke https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehw087 III Loop Recorders ILR Accuracy - Multicenter, Multidevice Comparison https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2025.12.039 IV Heart Failure Therapy when there is Cancer EMPATICC Trial https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf705 You may also like: The Bob Harrington Show with the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, Robert A. Harrington, MD. https://www.medscape.com/author/bob-harrington Questions or feedback, please contact news@medscape.net

Midnight, the latest expansion for World of Warcraft, released this week, so that's most of our discussion. We tried to keep it spoiler free, but it's kind of hard when you just hate a particular character so [spoiler] much. We talk zones, transmog, decor, and how revisiting these places is hitting all the right nostalgia buttons.But of course, there's always more to come, from the weird little staggered raid schedule to house parties for upgrade tokens (which is a real thing), this is just the beginning of Midnight.There was also a small smattering of Diablo news, with season 11 ending next week, on March 10. Okay, Diablo, we see you.If you have a few minutes, please fill out our survey to tell us what you think about the podcast. This data is collected by our podcast host, Acast, and will be used to help us improve the show as well as attract potential sponsors. Your answers are completely anonymous. We appreciate your help!If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of the series, Dr. Andy Southerland and Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi break down key takeaways from the OCEANIC‑STROKE trial.  Show citation:  Read more about the OCEANIC-STROKE trial.  Show transcript:  Dr. Andy Southerland:  Hello everyone. This is Andy Southerland from the University of Virginia. For today's Neurology Minute, I've just been speaking with my colleague, Seemant Chaturvedi from the University of Maryland, about exciting trials presented at this year's 2026 International Stroke Conference from the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association. And the one we want to discuss for today's Neurology Minute in brief was the OCEANIC-STROKE trial. This was a very large international trial looking at the use of a novel antithrombotic agent, a Factor XI inhibitor, compared to placebo as an adjunct to our traditional antiplatelet therapies for secondary stroke prevention. And it was received with quite a bit of excitement. So Seemant, tell us in brief, what did we learn from OCEANIC-STROKE? Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi:  One new class of agents, which is being tested are the Factor XIa inhibitors. And this has a unique mechanism of action, and it's believed that it can reduce thrombotic events without causing an increase in bleeding, which would be truly a major breakthrough. And so in OCEANIC-STROKE, over 12,000 patients were enrolled with either stroke or high-risk TIA within 72 hours of the last event. And the trial found that patients who had fairly mild strokes with a median NIH score of two, that when you add the asundexian 50 milligrams per day on top of either dual antiplatelet or single antiplatelet therapy, that there was an improved outcome and reduction in stroke with asundexian. There was a 2.2% absolute reduction in ischemic stroke, 26% in relative terms. Stroke, MI, and vascular death was also reduced with asundexian, as was disabling stroke. An exciting finding was that major bleeding was not increased with asundexian. And so this confirmed the preclinical hypothesis. And so I think this was a significant result in terms of reducing recurrent ischemic stroke without increasing bleeding. And so I think we eagerly await the full publication, and I think it could be applicable to many of the patients that we see in our clinical practice. Dr. Andy Southerland:  So asundexian, folks, you'll hear more about this as the drug hopefully comes on the market and we see the full primary publication of this OCEANIC-STROKE trial, but exciting nonetheless to have a possible new treatment to help us reduce the risk of recurrent stroke for our patients. So Seemant, thanks so much again for joining us for today's Neurology Minute. And I encourage all of our listeners, as always, to listen to the full podcast interview ain The Neurology Podcast. Seemant, thanks for joining us. Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi:  My pleasure.  

Clint and Jeff talk about another spring training day and win for the Los Angeles Dodgers! Dalton Rushing continued a torrid streak with a pair of extra base hits. Is he getting closer to being the guy we expected him to be coming up from Triple-A? And how can the Dodgers find enough playing time for him to stay locked in? We discuss. Tube in all season long! Leave a voicemail or text the Friend of the Show hotline! (562)373-4095 Join our Discord by supporting the show on Patreon! patreon.com/realFRG Or on YouTube Members! youtube.com/@alldodgers/join All Dodgers is presented by FanDuel, part of the Bleav Network of podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send Zorba a message!It's recipe day! James Beard nominated Chef Danny Calleros walks us through his incredible recipe for Crispy Fried Tofu with Creme Fraiche. Zorba digs into new research that suggests the Mediterranean Diet may decrease stroke risk. He also helps listeners with acid reflux and sinus issues.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl Christenson Send your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!): Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime) Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.com Web: www.doctorzorba.org Stay well!

In part on of this series, Dr. Andy Southerland and Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi discuss two trials highlighted at the 2026 International Stroke Conference.  Show citation:  Read more about the CHOICE-2 trial.  Show transcript:  Dr. Andy Southerland: Hello everyone. This is Andy Southerland. And for this week's Neurology Minute, I have just been speaking once again with my colleague, Seemant Chaturvedi, about his impressions from this year's 2026 American Heart Association, American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference. We've discussed a number of the very exciting pivotal trials presented at this year's meeting that occurred just a couple of weeks ago. But for the minute today, we want to just highlight two that were represented as late breaking trials in the world of acute stroke treatment. And the first was OPTION, which was a trial looking at extended window thrombolysis patients between four and a half and 24 hours. And the second was in the use of thrombolysis as an adjunct local treatment in patients receiving thrombectomy. So Seemant, to the best of your ability in our brief snippet today, what were the main highlights from these studies? Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi: In the OPTION trial, 570 patients were enrolled from China, and these were patients in the four and a half to 24 hour window with no evidence of large vessel occlusion. And they had a mismatch present at baseline imaging, median NIH score was seven. And when the tenecteplase was administered in this select group of patients, there was improvement in the excellent outcome of about 44% with tenecteplase and 34% with placebo. And there was a slight increase in hemorrhage of about 3%, but no increase in mortality. The second trial, CHOICE-2, also looked at thrombolysis, but it looked at local intraarterial thrombolysis following thrombectomy. And they enrolled patients with a median NIH score of 15 and the patients were enrolled from Spain and they gave a local TPA versus placebo following successful thrombectomy. And they also reported improved outcomes with about 57.5 having an excellent outcome with intraarterial TPA compared to 43% with placebo. There was slightly increased mortality in the TPA group, but this didn't seem to be explained by intracerebral hemorrhage. And so I think both of these were very intriguing and they add some complexity to acute stroke treatment. And so primary stroke centers and comprehensive stroke centers need to discuss the results with their teams and see if they want to embrace these treatment options. Dr. Andy Southerland: Fantastic, Seemant. So bottom line is thrombolysis is much more than it used to be in that very narrow time window and that very narrow indication. There are now patients who may benefit in that extended time window, and it's also being shown to have benefit in cases in which we get incomplete reperfusion with our traditional mechanical thrombectomy. So take that and run with it. Hopefully we can apply it to our stroke systems of care and help patients. Thank you again, Seemant for being with us on today's Neurology Minute. Seek out the full interview and also the primary publications as well.  

Send Zorba a message!It's recipe day! James Beard nominated Chef Danny Calleros walks us through his incredible recipe for Crispy Fried Tofu with Creme Fraiche. Zorba digs into new research that suggests the Mediterranean Diet may decrease stroke risk. He also helps listeners with acid reflux and sinus issues.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl Christenson Send your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!): Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime) Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.com Web: www.doctorzorba.org Stay well!

In this episode, Dr. Willie Jolley talks with international speaker and author, Roderick Jefferson. Once at the top of his game in business, a life-threatening stroke changed everything. Roderick shares powerful lessons from his new book, Stroke of Success, revealing how faith, balance, and self-care can transform life's toughest challenges into lasting success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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a discovery of Madonna, a live reaction to the Scatty Movie trailer, a live tarot reading by oomf Venus, and so much more await your filthy delights. stroke your shi. kev substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/esotericgayguy/p/are-you-ready-to-die-dilf?r=fuypt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Jared's Athena: The Goddess of Thunder Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/-jtl/athena-the-goddess-of-thunder-second-chance?ref=project_build Gray's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2NfSPGZ5OFcek6Baw3iQQw SuS Records: https://www.youtube.com/@SusRecordsCEO Jared's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ComicsLeague Jared's Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3jv6I2edZ8lpc02gJEHw3e?si=cb5f48a6f8d84add Stork's Podcast: https://besottedgeek.podbean.com/   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WeirdScienceComics This Week's Patreon-Exclusive Spotlight Show is Titans #32 & Wonder Woman #30 Listen to the Spotlight Podcast by signing up to our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/weirdscience   0:00 - Intro 0:24:32 - Superman #35 0:48:54 - Green Lantern #32 1:17:52 - The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1 1:51:20 - The Flash #30 2:09:43 - Next Week's Books   FOLLOW WEIRD SCIENCE COMICS Twitter:  https://twitter.com/WeirdScienceDC  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/weirdscience DC Comics Review Site: https://bit.ly/WeirdScienceDC Marvel Review Site: https://bit.ly/WeirdScienceMarvel   SUBSCRIBE TO WEIRD SCIENCE COMIC PODCASTS:  DC Comics Podcast iTunes - https://apple.co/47jNeme Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2XzDALI Stitcher - https://bit.ly/45XPtKS   Marvel Comics Podcast iTunes - https://apple.co/3u1xxSh Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3QJFAfe Pandora - https://bit.ly/3Qq5cwd YT - https://bit.ly/WeirdSciencePodcasts

Welcome to the Run TMC podcast, Season 3, Episode 18  Heya, The Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 In this episode, Dave and Duffy recap the North Coast Section results and preview NorCal matchups, spotlighting boys teams Marin Catholic, Branson, and San Marin, and girls teams Marin Academy, San Domenico, Branson, and Redwood. They share coach voice memos, celebrate standout players and coaches, and highlight local sponsors supporting the show. The episode also features an interview with Tyler Gaffney about his Bring Back Play initiative to revive pickup and free play for youth, plus sponsor messages and community notes. Show Notes The Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 And Check This Out: Bring Back Play (G): Content is Mostly Global Interest Topics (M): Content is Mostly Inside Marin Topics Musical intro credit to Stroke 9//Logo credit to Katie Levine Content and opinions are those of Dave, Duffy and their guests and not of affiliated organizations or sponsors email us at: theruntmcpodcast@gmail.com follow us on Instagram @theruntmcpodcast check out our website at: theruntmcpodcast.com thank you to our sponsors: The Hub in San Anselmo Encore Custom Apparel online and in downtown San Rafael  Batiste Rhum  The Social Klub in Sausalito San Domenico Nike Summer Basketball Camps

My husband was denying me intimacy, so I secretly had 6 men sleep with me, including his friends, and now... - Wife pleads for help

Dr. Andy Southerland talks with Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi about the latest findings from the 2026 International Stroke Conference.  Read more about the CHOICE-2 trial. Read more about the OCEANIC-STROKE trial.  Read more about the FASTEST trial.  Disclosures can be found at Neurology.org.

Life 3 Years After Stroke: Three years ago, Pete Rumple was in a hospital bed, weighing 337 pounds, unable to walk, unable to talk, and completely paralysed down his right side following a massive hemorrhagic stroke. He was on 17 medications and had just spent his first night as a wheelchair user. By his own admission, the first year was so dark that he didn’t want to live. Today, Pete does CrossFit every day, has lost 150 pounds, is off 15 of his 17 medications, and is about to launch a new business at 61 years old. This is what life 3 years after a stroke can look like and, more importantly, how Pete got there. The First Decision: Control What You Can Within days of his stroke, while still in the hospital, Pete made a choice. He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t use his right arm. Doctors were managing everything around him. But he could control one thing: what he ate. “I got to change everything,” he says. “And as I lay there, this was one thing I could control with all the things I couldn’t.” Pete reduced his intake to two or three bites of food per day. By the time he left the hospital 30 days later, he had lost 40 pounds. That single decision became the foundation of everything that followed. For anyone newly out of the hospital and feeling overwhelmed, this is perhaps the most important message: you don’t have to fix everything at once. Find one controllable. Start there. Books like Grain Brain by Dr David Perlmutter and Why We Get Sick by Benjamin Bikman are excellent starting points for understanding the role of nutrition in brain recovery; both are recommended in this episode.   Movement: From Water to CrossFit Pete’s physical recovery moved in deliberate stages. With right-side proprioception severely affected, his body couldn’t properly sense where it was in space land-based exercise felt impossible at first. The solution was water. “The water surrounds you,” Pete explains. “It’s easier to move with what we both have.” He spent nearly a year in the pool doing aquatic therapy, then transitioned to a gym with a personal trainer for four months, then, in April 2024, ditched his cane and started CrossFit. He now attends every day, with about 30% modification. The journey from wheelchair to CrossFit wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t linear. But it was intentional.   The Brain Science Behind Doing Hard Things One of the most fascinating parts of Pete’s recovery is how he used neuroscience to drive his progress. After watching a Huberman Lab episode featuring David Goggins, he learned about the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (AMCC), a region of the brain that grows and strengthens specifically when you do things that are difficult and unpleasant. “Everything I did not enjoy or created pain, I’m doing it.” This wasn’t masochism. It was a strategy. Pete began deliberately choosing the exercises, behaviours, and tasks he least wanted to do and watched his recovery accelerate as a result. His speech improved. His movement improved. His cognitive function came back faster. Bill adds important context here: when you visualise movement, your brain fires the same neural pathways as when you physically perform it. Pete used this daily, studying his CrossFit workout the night before, visualising each exercise, then arriving 30 minutes early to breathe and mentally rehearse before training. This is neuroplasticity working for you, not against you. The choice is yours: choose the hard that rewards you, or endure the hard that doesn’t.   Identity: Three Words That Changed Everything Beyond the physical, Pete’s recovery demanded a complete rebuild of who he was. An executive career was gone. Independence had been stripped away. The personality and habits that contributed to the stroke, such as overworking, overeating, and using alcohol to manage stress, needed to be replaced, not just removed. He approached this the way he’d approached business: with a framework. At any given time, Pete identifies three words that define who he is. Right now: resilient, consistent, and unafraid. “I try to be honest with myself and say, where am I now?” he explains. “And it may change, but it gives me something to triangulate toward.” This kind of identity-based self-management, knowing who you are deciding to be, not just what you are trying to do, is one of the most transferable lessons from Pete’s story. What Life 3 Years After Stroke Really Looks Like Pete’s neurologist, who once saw him quarterly, recently told him she doesn’t need to see him annually anymore. “We have not seen this kind of recovery before from what you had,” she said. He’s about to start a fractional leadership business with a former CFO. He does CrossFit every day. He sleeps well. He volunteers. He uses AI tools to stay sharp and curious. He is, as he puts it, “on the other side of it.” But he’s also clear-eyed about what’s ahead: returning to high-stakes work, managing the stressors that contributed to his stroke in the first place, and monitoring the potholes that come with re-entering a demanding professional world. “I realise that is a very real risk,” he says. “I’m going to test and learn.”   The Lily Pad Principle When asked how to frame the journey for people still in the early stages, Pete offers one of the most useful images in this entire conversation: “It’s like lily pads across the lake. Get to a lily pad, then get to the next one. Don’t worry about boiling the ocean. Don’t worry about what it’s going to be in months or a year. Step by step. Keep pushing.” That is life 3 years after stroke, not a finish line, but a direction. And for Pete Rumple, the direction is forward.   Want more stories like this? Read Bill’s book recoveryafterstroke.com/book | Support the show: patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke   Disclaimer This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. From Wheelchair to CrossFit: Life 3 Years After a Massive Hemorrhagic Stroke Pete Rumple lost 150 lbs, ditched the wheelchair, and now does CrossFit at 61. Here’s what life 3 years after a stroke really looks like. Turnto.ai InterviewPeter Rumple Interview EP 332Turnto.ai discount code: Bill10Highlights: 00:00 Introduction to Life 3 Years After Stroke Recovery Journey05:31 Physical Recovery and Rehabilitation11:05 Dietary Changes and Weight Loss15:42 Medication Management and Health Improvements21:29 The Role of Visualisation in Recovery26:03 Embracing Discomfort for Growth33:31 The Power of Hard Work and Persistence40:53 The Journey Back to Work50:48 Navigating Health Challenges56:25 Resilience and Consistency in Recovery01:04:38 Proactive Health Management01:15:11 Defining Identity Through Resilience Transcript: Introduction to Life 3 Years After Stroke Recovery Journey Pete Rumple (00:00)And Bill, I want to take a second and plug your book back in the first ⁓ the first session I did with you, I referenced a number of things you taught me through the podcast that I did to make to start building momentum like the cooking dinner every day was the to do. That was your mission. Yeah. so much of what I’ve learned from you, the podcast and what’s inevitably in the book was a great starting point for me. And I built my, my stuff on top of it, but it was really great to stand on your shoulders and get, and get that lift. Bill Gasiamis (00:44)Hi everyone, before we get into Pete’s story and you are definitely going to want to hear this one. I want to share something I’ve been using myself that I genuinely think could help a lot of you. It’s called turn2.ai and it’s an AI health sidekick that keeps you up to date with personalized updates every single week. Did you know there were over 800 new things published every week related to stroke? Research, expert discussions. patient stories, clinical trials, events. It’s an enormous amount of information. Turn2 finds what’s most relevant to you and delivers it straight to your inbox. I use it myself and it’s genuinely my favorite tool for 2026 for staying across what’s new in stroke recovery. It’s low cost and completely patient first. You can try it for free. And when you’re ready to subscribe, you can use my code, BILL10, at turn2.ai slash sidekick slash stroke to get a discount. I earn a small commission if you use that link at no extra cost to you. And that helps keep this podcast going. Also, if you haven’t yet, pick up a copy of my book, head to recoveryafterstroke.com/book. Real stories, real tools. The same stuff Pete and I talk about today and a huge thank you to everyone supporting us on Patreon and in the other ways that you support the show and myself. You’re the reason this content stays free for the people who need it You can support the show at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. Right. Let’s get into Pete Rumple’s story. Massive hemorrhagic stroke. Wheelchair couldn’t walk or talk 337 pounds three years later. He does CrossFit every day So you’re gonna want to hear this one. Let’s get into it Bill Gasiamis (02:35)Pete Rumpel, hello, welcome back. Pete Rumple (02:38)Hey Bill, it’s great to see you again. Bill Gasiamis (02:41)Great to see you too, my friend. ⁓ Last time we met was about a year ago. And this is gonna be a slightly different episode because we’re gonna talk about what things were like then and then what they’re like now, just so that we can paint a picture for people about how recovery has gone, what happened in the last 12 or so months. And in the previous episode, by the way, that was episode… 338 or something. And now we’re nearing episode 394, 395. will be. So I’ve been pretty consistent. So it means that it’s been over a year because I try and release one episode a week, et cetera. So it’d be a really good thing to do for people is to give them a bit of a guide of. some of the setbacks, some of the challenges, some of the things that have changed, improved. And now everyone’s different, okay? So this is Pete’s version. And what we’re hoping to do is kind of inspire hope, Pete, right? We wanna give people hope that things can change and improve. And even if it’s slower for you than other people, there can be a reward for putting in a lot of effort, hard work, re-educating yourself about what it means to live healthily. and all that kind of thing. And give us just a little bit of an insight because there’ll be a link to the original video where you can find out Pete’s complete story, but give us a little bit of an insight into the stroke, the day that it happened, what it was like. Pete Rumple (04:24)Okay, you bet Bill it was about 38 months ago. The stroke, was, it was a massive hemorrhagic stroke. ⁓ eight months in a wheelchair had to learn to talk again, walk again, all that. And, ⁓ so we had, ⁓ had the call about a little over a year and a half through it. And then, ⁓ now I’m further through it and, it’s gone amazing. I’m so lucky. So whatever we want to dig into that’ll be great. Bill Gasiamis (05:04)So your deficits were your right arm wasn’t working properly. Initially you weren’t able to walk. You were wheelchair bound for nearly six months. ⁓ So what are the physical deficits like now? What has changed? What has improved? And how did that go? what were the things that you did that helped you improve in that way? Physical Recovery and Rehabilitation Pete Rumple (05:31)Yeah. So Bill, I, um, it was my right side that I lost, which I forget what the term is, but, uh, it was my whole right side. So, um, when I, what, what I did that was important is first of all, totally overhauled my diet. And I, um, I had lost about 150 pounds. Um, I then, when I started about a year into it, I started, um, doing aquatics, the water aerobics to start dealing with their proprioception and the, um, and just movement. couldn’t, I couldn’t do that in, the ether. I couldn’t do it in the air. had to do it with the water. Bill Gasiamis (06:27)Okay, why is that? Because that’s interesting, because I have a similar problem with proprioception. My left side kind of doesn’t know where it is. There’s not enough information telling it where it is. And sometimes it overcompensates and I get off balance, etc. It feels strange. In the water, I also calmly, I felt calmly different, like I felt ⁓ more supported, even though the water wasn’t really supporting me. How was it for you? Pete Rumple (06:56)You’re absolutely right, Bill, because the water surrounds you, right? So it’s easy to move in the water with what we both have. So I spent almost a year in the water. then I started to, then what I did is I moved to a gym with someone helping me work out for about four months. And then in April, so almost a year ago, in April, I got rid of my cane and I went to CrossFit. And so now I do CrossFit every day. And that was really ugly at first, Bill, and I had to do a lot of modification. But now I modify probably 30%. But Bill Gasiamis (07:42)Uh-huh. Pete Rumple (07:54)row bike. can’t run yet. I’m still walking, but I’m getting ready to go to the beach and practice running for about a month. Bill Gasiamis (08:05)Okay, where in the head was the hemorrhagic stroke? Where did it happen? Do you know? Pete Rumple (08:14)The where, ⁓ I forget. Bill Gasiamis (08:18)That’s all right. It’s not important to remember. So also then, ⁓ when you had the hemorrhagic stroke, how was it rectified or resolved? Did they operate? What did they do? Pete Rumple (08:30)They didn’t have to operate. Bill Gasiamis (08:32)Uh-huh. Pete Rumple (08:33)They just, I got in there, they did things to make sure the bleeding stopped, ⁓ but it was no operation. Bill Gasiamis (08:45)what caused the bleed? Was it ⁓ high blood pressure as a result of your weight? Pete Rumple (08:50)It was a number of things, was high blood pressure, it was a lot of stress. They have a scale bill called the Holmes Raw Scale, Holmes with an L and Raw, R-A-H-E, where you can, it has like 42 major stress events. If you score under 150, you’re fine, 150, 300s. pretty bad and then over 300 is devastating like it’s predicts a major stroke or heart attack within a year. And I was 360 on that scale. I’d gone through the divorce, I had the kids, I had a job change, you name it, I had it. ⁓ Weight was not good, drank too much. So that was my wake up call. if you will, which was severe. And it’s been, it’s great now. Bill Gasiamis (09:53)Yeah, so your arm was completely flaccid, I think, when we spoke last. So where is it now? Pete Rumple (10:03)I can do everything with it. This is the, so I can lift and I’m lifting more weight, not where I was, but about probably 50%. I’m doing pull-ups with the arm and my legs are, I’ve worked them a lot. I’m very strong there. So it’s getting there. Bill Gasiamis (10:25)Okay, cool. When we spoke, you mentioned that in hospital alone, you’d lost 40 pounds. That kind of makes sense. A lot of people say that things change in hospital food relation. When you’re unwell, ⁓ how you consume food completely changes, as well as how hospitals ⁓ treat people with regards to the food, how it’s terrible, how often you get to eat. and how accessible it is. So, but earlier, a little earlier, you said that you lost 150 pounds all up. Dietary Changes and Weight Loss Pete Rumple (11:05)Yeah, Bill. So when I was in the hospital, which was obvious, I was there 30 days from the stroke. And that was where I had to make a choice. And it was like, if am I going to try and get better or not. And so what I did is I ate two to three bites of food a day. That was it because I was in a wheelchair, Bill, I couldn’t move. So coming out 40 pounds lighter was ⁓ a lot of work and a lot of fasting, if you will. Bill Gasiamis (11:42)Why did you decide that that was what you needed to do? How did you conclude that? I know I’m gonna be in hospital. I’ve had a hemorrhagic stroke. There’s nothing else I can do. What I’m gonna do is fast and stop eating food. How does that? Pete Rumple (12:01)was a first step, Bill. Absolutely. was like, I got to change everything. And so as I lay here, this is one thing I can control with all the things I can’t. Bill Gasiamis (12:14)In hospital though, most people in hospital don’t have that realization. I mean, that would have been days out from a hemorrhagic stroke. They’re telling you all these things. Like how did you get to that conclusion? Were you cognizant of needing to do that earlier before you got sick and then you thought, well, now I have to do it or was it an aha moment of some other kind? Pete Rumple (12:40)No, you’re absolutely right. And it was something I knew was getting out of control, Bill. And I couldn’t, I couldn’t resolve it. It was just, it was really tough. And I’m like, this is it. I mean, this is the ultimate wake up call. The other one, Bill, was I had, when I came into the hospital, I was on 17 meds. I now have two. and I’m at 20 milligrams and I’m probably off those in the next four to five months. So it’s been a long programmatic diet, nutrition, health, and it’s been three years. I mean, it’s not insignificant for sure. Bill Gasiamis (13:27)⁓ What was the 17 medications treating or or or managing? Pete Rumple (13:37)I think Bill, it’s almost like, like, what do you do with this guy? You got to throw everything at him to keep on going. I don’t think it would have been 17 for very long. It was probably stop gap measures. Some were pain, but even the pain bill second day. I said, I want no more pain meds, take them away. And it was brutal, right? Cause you know, the way you feel and the, my scapula, my legs, was, it was awful, but I was like, I found my way here, I got to find my way out and let me get off as much as I can and start the pilgrimage back. Bill Gasiamis (14:20)Before the stroke, would you have been somebody who would have taken a device to change your diet? Pete Rumple (14:28)I would have taken every hack I could have, Bill, before the stroke. Bill Gasiamis (14:34)Anything to avoid doing the hard work? that what you mean? Yes. Pete Rumple (14:38)Yes, sir. And look, I was always a hard worker. And I would work out and do stuff. But this is a whole other level. This became life or death. I mean, because you know, the stats bill, like, when I looked at the stats that about 75 % of people are gone in year one, there’s 25%, especially hemorrhagic, 25 % at the time. 25 % a month later, 25 % at the end of the year, another 20 at the end of year two. I’m like, I’m gonna go through all this and then I still have so little chance. So I just went for it and I went really hardcore. Bill Gasiamis (15:25)Did you eat, drink too much to manage emotional ⁓ stress, challenges? What do you think was behind it? Or was it just bad habits? Or did you think you were bulletproof? What was the reason behind it? Medication Management and Health Improvements Pete Rumple (15:42)Everything you just said, Bill, everything you just said. Yeah. I mean, it’s everything, right? You start justifying bad behavior. You have a reason for why things happen. And I just like, even when I try to lose weight, though, I might lose a couple pounds, but then I eat again and what I was eating, how I was eating. So in that first year, I went super deep on nutrition. and how your body works. And I went from, at the stroke I was 337 pounds. And then when I did my podcast with you, I was 180. Bill Gasiamis (16:25)Yeah, well, ⁓ one of the books that I’ll mention to people, you might have read different ones, and that’s cool. But the one that always comes to mind that I always recommend is Grain Brain by Dr. David Pelmutter. So if you’re in the very early stages of recovery and you want to make some changes like Pete did, read or listen to the book Grain Brain by Dr. David Pelmutter, and then ⁓ read a book called ⁓ Why We Get Sick. ⁓ I’m going to quickly do a search on ⁓ online because I keep forgetting the person’s name. ⁓ And what it’s going to do is going to why we get sick by Benjamin Bickman. And what it’s going to do is going to give people an insight into the. ⁓ I one of the things is the first book is the food that you can avoid and stop eating and the reasons why and how they benefit the brain and then ⁓ why we get sick is an insight into, in fact, exactly that why we get sick. so that you have an understanding of what might have got you into that real bad state. And then also before that, ⁓ the food component of it, because those two things, if you know why you got somewhere and then you know what the trigger was, what the thing was that made you get there, so the food, for example, then you’ve got a great foundation for taking the next step forward ⁓ and reversing it. Pete Rumple (18:02)Absolutely. Bill Gasiamis (18:04)and improving your health and improving your diet, losing weight and decreasing your risks of heart attack, stroke, cancer, all that kind of stuff. ⁓ So I love that you got curious. That’s what I did. I was in hospital reading and watching YouTube videos about how I’m going to recover, how I’m going to overcome things, all sorts of stuff like that. And it was… Pete Rumple (18:19)I remember. Bill Gasiamis (18:31)in a situation where control is given over to medics, doctors, surgeons, all that kind of stuff, you feel like you’re a little bit of a, you’re just floating in the wind and you’re not really stable and you don’t have an anchor point, right? So when you, if you want to feel like you’re a little more anchored, what you could do is you could take control of the controllables and Nutrition is one of those controllables and it doesn’t cost you any extra. You don’t have to spend money. Pete Rumple (19:04)You’re absolutely right, Bill. It’s a huge point. By the way, there’s a great app, and I know there are many, but there’s a great app called Yuka, Y-U-K-A. You can scan any barcode in the store and it will tell you the score and what’s wrong with it and the amount of food I was eating that was, especially in the U.S., Bill, heavily processed, additives, dyes. It’s like toxic. And so you can scan it and know what’s really in it. And it tells you what’s good, what’s bad. And it was a huge help. Bill Gasiamis (19:44)Yeah. So we’re going to have some of these links in the show notes for anyone who wants to find them. I’ll put a link to the books. I’ll put a link to Pete’s previous episode. We’ll put a link to that Yuka app. Pete, that’s your homework. You have to send me that link when we’re chatting. ⁓ When you say you’ve lost 150 pounds, like that is 50 kilograms. That is almost two-thirds of my weight. Well, it’s actually, yeah, it’s about two-thirds of my weight. That means that if I lost 50 pounds, I would just be a bag of bones. Pete Rumple (20:30)Well, and Bill, I was a bigger guy to begin with. have a big frame and I played a lot of US football, American football. So I had a lot of weight to lose, Bill, and it’s gone now. And I’m back up to about 205 and it’s all muscle life, about a 32 inch waist now. really, really fit and I go for it. And by the way, by the way, I want to make one point to all listeners that took a long time, Bill, like between being the wheelchair for eight months and then getting the pool. It took a long time. I used to go and sit and watch people work out to just reacquaint myself. Bill Gasiamis (21:03)How old are you? The Role of Visualisation in Recovery Pete Rumple (21:29)what it looked like and inspire myself. It has been a long road, but my goodness, is absolutely I’m on the other side of it now. Cause as I had said in the first podcast, the first 18 months, I did not want to live, especially year one, ⁓ immense amount of pain. had been a successful executive that was gone. Like it was really really rough. And so now it’s beautiful. And I want people to know that because it it’s so worth it. Delay gratification, you learn a lot about it. And it’s ⁓ Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (22:14)I love that delayed gratification, but also you went into a gym watching other people train when you couldn’t train, just so you can be around it and familiarize yourself with it again. That’s really interesting. That’s probably one thing I’ve never done is go to a gymnasium and watch other people train. It’s a bit creepy Pete. Pete Rumple (22:32)Yeah, it is. It’s weird. And people would look at me like, what’s he doing? And by and by the way, Bill, I did a lot of work on how to breathe, which was really helpful, how to how to manifest and to really sit and get mentally so I go even today, Bill, I go in a half hour before my workout to work on breathing and visualizing my exercises, because I get the the list of what my workout is before I get there the night before. So I study and I prepare and then go. Bill Gasiamis (23:10)What I love about visualizing is that if you visualize the brain actually fires off the exact same neuron and pathways that it does if you actually physically do that thing. And there’s been studies in the past that have showed that you can take an average guy like me and you can make them watch a video of somebody doing archery, for example, and you can ⁓ take them through a number of repetitions of this person, this champion doing archery. And just with that information and the visualization techniques later, you can take somebody who has basically never shot ⁓ an arrow through a bow and you can get them to a certain level of competence far more rapidly than you would have if you just got that person out of a crowd and sent to him. Have you ever shot an arrow? If they said no and they took the shot, they probably wouldn’t be able to do it as well as the person who was trained by just watching what the other person, the champion was doing. And when I was in hospital wanting to walk again, I’m sitting in my bed between sessions because I had a wheelchair as well. And I was visualizing myself doing the perfect walk, what the perfect walk would look like. And then I would take myself later to ⁓ therapy where I would be walking and I would be trying to replicate what I was seeing in my head so that we could get a similar result. And of course at the beginning, your leg is now doing it physically and it needs to catch up to the brain. The brain has ⁓ the pathway, but the leg needs to catch up. So then what the leg does is it goes, this feels a bit weird or this is a bit strange or this is not how I expected it. But it has a reference point for where to get to and how to do the perfect step, right? And then you’re closer to the perfect step than you were if you were just relying on therapists to ⁓ train you through that. Pete Rumple (25:22)You’re absolutely right, Bill. And the brain is amazing. Look, it can work for you or against you depending on what you’re thinking and how you’re doing things. And it was really amazing, Bill, because as I built my capability through CrossFit, it was amazing how my brain would start to take over. Like I wasn’t sure, but my brain was already, I got it, and so grew. It started carrying me and just getting it done. It’s amazing. Bill Gasiamis (25:58)Yeah, yeah. Embracing Discomfort for Growth But how did you know to do that? That’s the thing that I’m interested in understanding because I didn’t know the guy before stroke didn’t know about doing like magic like this. know, how do you, I don’t know, like, can you explain how you found yourself in that situation? Cause I can’t, people go to me like, well, how did you know to do that? Or how did you do that? And I’m like, I don’t know what happened, but something clicked. that made me stumble onto, discover, find all the necessary tools that I needed to get me to the next stage. I’ve never been able to do that before and I can do that now. Pete Rumple (26:46)Yep, me too, Bill, me too. And you know what? I think it’s how desperate we are for answers. And especially you can read all these blogs about what doesn’t work and what’s a waste of time, but you find the nuggets and you go for it. Here’s a great one, Bill. And I’ll send this in the link. Andrew Huberman, he runs a podcast called Huberman Lab. He had David Goggins on and he purposely waited for Goggins to share with him the research around the AMCC, which is the anterior mid-cruciate cortex, which is a part of the brain. And when you do things that are hard and you don’t enjoy it, that part of your brain grows and gets stronger. So I sat there, Bill, and I’m like, well, damn, if I can start to make my brain stronger, I’m going to do it. So I did all the stuff I hate to do. And I started doing it. And I started even faster, talking better, walking better, and really doing everything I did not like to do. And he even brings up the point when he describes it. He brings up that if you like running every day, It doesn’t work. But if you hate running and you have to go run, it works and it makes sure and make, they’ve learned so much that was, that was about three to four years ago. They found it, but this is a massive find in the brain. And I started using it, Bill. And what I started to do was everything I did not enjoy or created pain. I’m like, I’m doing it. And it took me from averting it to leaning into it. And it was amazing. it’s, you’d think it’s BS, it’s not. And Huberman, you know, he works at Stanford. He knows his stuff. It was really, really impactful. Bill Gasiamis (29:03)Yeah, it’s about being comfortable being uncomfortable, isn’t it? Like it’s realizing that you’re probably not killing yourself by paying in a little bit of pain exercising. also, yeah. Pete Rumple (29:16)And Bill, I will just say, I did a very good job for the first time in my life of listening to my body. So I go hard, I push, but when I wasn’t feeling it or didn’t feel right, I take the day, relax, and then come back stronger next. Bill Gasiamis (29:38)I want to pause there for a second because what Pete just described is exactly the kind of thing I wrote about in my book. The idea that the obstacle is the path, the doing the hard stuff in recovery. If you haven’t grabbed the copy yet, it’s called the unexpected way that a stroke became the best thing that happened. You can find it at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. The link is in the show notes and in the YouTube description. So let’s get packed. to Pete. Bill Gasiamis (30:08)Yeah, yeah, agreed. And it’s important to listen to your body after a stroke, because you don’t want to make things worse, especially when you’re still healing and still recovering and you’re still fragile, you know, there’s a lot of things that you need to take into consideration. However, being uncomfortable and being comfortable with that is really a good skill to master. ⁓ It is, ⁓ it reminds me of the saying that we hear that’s often attributed to the old great Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which is the obstacle is the way, you know, when you get to something that’s really hard, you go for it, because that’s what you’re to be. That’s the purpose of the obstacle. It’s to overcome it, to find the way around it, under it, over it, through it, whatever it is. And Goggins is a scary guy. He’s a scary guy, because he runs without, without cartilage in his knees or something. I don’t know what he’s missing. but he shouldn’t be able to run, he shouldn’t be running and somehow he still runs. I think his version of running is a little toxic. I think he’s just a slight too far, ⁓ but nonetheless, it’s still proof of ⁓ what you’re capable of and how much people can push and go beyond their comfort zone. And if you’ve never pushed beyond your comfort zone, there’s no better time to do it. You really have to do it now because you want to activate the right neuroplasticity. You don’t want to activate negative neuroplasticity, which rewires your brain to be more comfortable, less willing to do hard things. ⁓ And therefore, you get the results of that. You get the decrease in your recovery or the ⁓ overcoming of your deficits. So I appreciate that whole ⁓ mentality of finding what’s hard and you’re probably in the right place. That’s probably what you need to do. Pete Rumple (32:07)Absolutely right, Bill. And I agree with everything you said. And look, I love Goggins, but it’s not to be like a warrior like him. The point is, like with Huberman, it was cool because Goggins thinks that way so much. He wanted to launch the foundational research with Goggins there with him. He purposely waited. So it was pretty cool. Bill Gasiamis (32:35)Yeah. And that that’s the thing, right? It’s like you get rewarded for doing hard things. ⁓ Stroke is hard. And if you ⁓ take the easy route, the comfortable route, the hard part of your stroke remains hard. Like it doesn’t get better. If you choose the other hard, the recovery Pete Rumple (32:59)right. Bill Gasiamis (33:04)benefits that you get from choosing hard of exercise, the hard of changing your diet, the hard of changing your mindset, et cetera. Like then that version of hard gets you a reward that is beneficial. The other hard just gets you more suffering. And that’s the hard you wanna avoid. Suffering without purpose. Well, suffering for a purpose gets you a payoff. The Power of Hard Work and Persistence Pete Rumple (33:31)That’s right. That’s exactly right, Bill. And look, with the, when you put it all together between the diet, though, increasingly working out, going after the deficits, all that, day by day, painful, hard, depressing, but you start looking three months, six months, a year later, you’re like, you start building your will and your ability. to do things you did not think you could do, and then it starts feeding on itself, and it becomes so powerful. Bill Gasiamis (34:09)Yeah, that’s my experience too. ⁓ Somebody put it in my head that I should start a podcast 10 years ago. It’s been 14 years since my first stroke this month, February, 14 years. It’s just gone like that. And then about three years in, a friend of mine said, should start a podcast type of thing. So I did. And it has been more than 10 years that I’ve been doing this podcast. ⁓ And I never thought that I’d be doing a podcast, let alone for 10 years. We’re talking about at the beginning, not a lot of episodes because I was too unwell to put a lot of episodes out. it’s ramped up now in the last four or five years, doing an episode a week, most weeks. And then the other thing I never ended up, I never thought I’d end up doing is writing a book here. Here’s the plug for the book. Pete Rumple (35:01)love it. I love it. Bill Gasiamis (35:03)The title is mental, like it’s the unexpected way that a stroke became the best thing that happened. ⁓ But the book is exactly the things that you’ve said. And I thought initially when I discovered those things about my book that I needed to put in my book, I thought that I was rediscovering these for the first time. Like at the very beginning, diets, ⁓ mindset, ⁓ exercise, sleep. ⁓ ⁓ meditation, hanging around other people who are positive, all that kind of stuff, doing stuff for other people, ⁓ like volunteering, that kind of thing. I thought I was discovering these things ⁓ for the first time ever, but turns out these are things that humans have always done. That’s what they default to. They default to all of these things when it’s necessary, and that’s where they get lost from. They kind of move away from there because they get diverted from there, from say, marketing or advertising or what somebody else is doing or through a lack of ⁓ focus from being distracted from work, from relationship issues, whatever the situation is. I didn’t write anything different in my book than has been written in the hundreds and thousands of books on this topic that have come before it. I just reorganized that and set it in my own words. But the reality is, is this is what people do when they’re trying to recover. They default back to the bare basics and they’re things that you can implement without ⁓ spending any extra money buying a course or anything like that. Of course, you might need to read it in a book for the first time to remind you or you might need to hear it on a YouTube video, but the reality is, is that nothing new in this book. Pete Rumple (36:51)And Bill, I want to take a second and plug your book because I have not read it yet. But back in the first ⁓ the first session I did with you, I referenced a number of things you taught me through the podcast that I did to make to start building momentum like the cooking dinner every day was the to do. That was your mission. Yeah. so much of what I’ve learned from you, the podcast and what’s inevitably in the book was a great starting point for me. And I built my, my stuff on top of it, but it was really great to stand on your shoulders and get, and get that lift. Bill Gasiamis (37:38)Yeah, isn’t it weird? Like it was just one thing, but it was the most important one thing. My whole world revolved around that. If I could put dinner on the table for the family in any capacity, it didn’t have to be like a five star meal or three courses or anything like that. It just had to be dinner. If I could do that, then that was kind of how I rehabilitated myself. I needed to be healthy enough, good enough, fit enough, have enough energy to just put a meal on the table for everyone when they came home from. work. was such a it’s such a it was it was important for many reasons. But it was also what I didn’t realize the underlying benefits that it was creating, which were the ones that ⁓ I noticed later after Pete Rumple (38:25)Yep. And you were re-engaging and you were pushing yourself. And I remember you go to the store to buy the stuff you needed sometimes. like all that stuff, Bill, when I look at the beginning, I couldn’t watch a TV for over a year. I couldn’t listen and did not listen to music for two years. It was, and now I’m like back in the fold, but it’s the push, the push, the push and just, you know, listening to the body, but going for it all the time. Bill Gasiamis (39:03)Yeah, exposure, like exposure, exposure, exposure, small, then larger, then more and more. I remember going to the stores to the local mall here, and we call it a shopping center, and parking the car, and then not being able to remember where I parked the car, walking around the entire car park, and talking to my brother, and going to him, he rang me just out of blue and I said to him, he goes, what are you doing? I said, I’m walking around the car park. He what are you doing that for? That’s because I don’t know where my car is. I’ve been looking for it for half an hour and I’ve got no idea where it is. I parked it and I just got no idea where. I don’t know which car park. I don’t know where I came in from. I don’t know what level it was on. And I was just walking around the car park talking to my brother, just telling him, I came and got a few things, but now I can’t get back to my car. Pete Rumple (39:55)Yeah, and there’s definitely you know bill once I got out of the darkness There’s definitely some really funny stories That that happened especially like the way The way I would walk people would see me I might be in a restaurant and i’m going to the bathroom and they think i’m drunk Yeah, and they’re like making fun of him like hey i’m not drunk, but ⁓ I get you know, I’m all right, I got it. And they’d be like horrified and I’d just start laughing. It was funny, but you gotta have some fun with it too, you know? Bill Gasiamis (40:34)Absolutely, you have to, you gotta laugh. you don’t laugh, well, it’s gonna be difficult time. You, ⁓ I remember when we spoke last time, you mentioned about trying to get back to work. ⁓ How did that go? Was it successful? Did you have some challenges? What was going back to work like? The Journey Back to Work Life 3 Years After Stroke Pete Rumple (40:53)So Bill, I’m gonna start back in June. I’ve done some projects, work projects, but I have not officially started working, but I’m going to. I’m starting a business with a close friend of mine, my former CFO, and we’re gonna start a new business. Bill Gasiamis (41:18)Tell me about the new business. What is it about? Can you share anything about it? Pete Rumple (41:22)Yeah, it’s called fractional leadership bill will probably go to companies that are ⁓ getting funded, trying to grow. They got a good idea. They can’t afford the people they need. So you basically it’s less consulting. It’s more you’re operating it for them and you work with multiple customers and it’s called fractional leadership is becoming a really pretty popular model. And, ⁓ and also for companies that have that have their revenue is stalled or shrinking, get them turned around. That was my background. My background was ⁓ running chief revenue officer. So everything that drives revenue in a company and I was a CEO twice. Bill Gasiamis (42:06)Uh-huh. Soon. Did you have a specific industry that you worked in? Pete Rumple (42:23)Yet a lot of times I call it TMT for telecom media and tech so tech companies and media and That kind of stuff Rosetta Stone was his language learning company. I was I ran all our institutional business education government and and ⁓ Corporate Bill Gasiamis (42:49)Wow, what a challenge. mean, technology is changing so rapidly. ⁓ I Pete Rumple (42:55)love it, Bill. And look, I’m sorry, I just had to make this point and not forget it. That was another thing I’ve done, Bill is I’ve gone heavy into AI. And I did it, not just because it’s the buzzword. But I’m like, Hey, if I’m going through this process, if I’m retraining my brain, why not try to get good at stuff that I either didn’t do or need to know. And it’s been so rewarding, Bill. Bill Gasiamis (43:24)out. Pete Rumple (43:25)It’s just crazy. Like AI, use chat chat, GBT, and it’s like my, my best friend. now work with chat daily and it’s amazing how the tech technology works. Not only can it be really helpful for figuring things out and having a partner, but it also remembers things about you in how it builds the profile. So it’ll basically say, Pete, don’t forget this, this, and this. And it’s awesome. It’s really killer. Bill Gasiamis (44:02)So here comes another plug, Pete. Okay, so this is not a sponsor, but it’s something that I truly believe in, okay? Because the person who contacted me, A, is an Australian, B, is a mother, ⁓ C, is a mother of two children with cerebral palsy. And she was looking for solutions to all the challenges that they faced as a family, especially to help her children, right? parent would do. So then ⁓ she used to do research like you and me jump on the computer, do some research, find out about all the things that ⁓ she needed to know with regards to what was most current in cerebral palsy right now. And she’s the struggle because ⁓ imagine like the time that it takes when you have a stroke brain to research, read, comprehend, determine whether Pete Rumple (45:01)We know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (45:04)whether or not that is applicable. Okay, that’s not applicable. Put that to the side, do another search. And then also going to doctors and researchers and all these other people and saying to them, what about this? What about that? And then them not being aware of anything that was new because they’re too swamped. They’ve got a massive workload. They don’t have time to be up to date with all the research, right? And this is a hundred percent a full on plug. I’m not apologizing for that. However, what this lady did, Jess from turn2.ai, I have a link to her interview as well, because I interviewed her, is she created an ⁓ AI that goes and does the research, the searching for you, and then sends you an email every week with everything new in your particular topic, for example, stroke. And then it tells you, I found seven, nine, 10 things for you this week that are new on stroke. It could be a podcast. It could be a research document. could be ⁓ whatever it is. It could be a book. It could be anything. It just finds it and sends you that information. And as your recovery continues, right, ⁓ what happens is ⁓ you might say, okay, now is there any information about food related to stroke recovery and healing the brain? And then it adds that to the search list. And then it comes back at the end of the next week with all the new information from food and brain. And then also whatever it was that you previously prompted it to find you. And it just keeps finding information and you build it and you build it and you build it. And then next week you get interested in meditation and you type, what can you tell me about meditation and healing the brain? And then it’s going to bring you all that information to your inbox. I spent hours and hours and days and days trying to find information about what I needed to know about stroke recovery. And when I found that little piece of paper, I had to go through the rabbit hole. I had to go down the rabbit hole and try and find ⁓ where ⁓ where it kind of where the exit point was where it led to so that I can discover whether I need to implement this, do this. So this just saves so much time and the guys are selling it for two bucks a week. Like you can get a month free and two, and then after that it’s two bucks a week just to find and do all the searching for you and bring you specific and relevant stuff. And we’re talking about scientifically relevant and specific like PubMed articles, like scientifically proven stuff, not what Bill ⁓ concocted up in his bedroom. you know, in suburban Melbourne, like proper things. So I love that you said that you’ve turned to AI. I’ve been using chat as well. Chat helps me with so many things, but what’s important is to learn how to interact with it. And that’s another, that’s another thing, another skill to discover. And it’s important that we jump on the bandwagon. AI is not going away. You need to learn about it, how to interact with it, and how to use it to benefit you and decrease the amount of time it takes to do something and get to recovery. Pete Rumple (48:37)You’re absolutely, absolutely right, Bill. I mean, it is, and even if you just use it for basic stuff to begin with, and you start learning how to create the right prompts to get the kind of answers you’re looking for, it’s a great skill. And the biggest thing is not being afraid and leaning into it. Bill Gasiamis (49:00)Yeah, not bad. Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of. They can get them all for free. At the beginning, you can get a free subscription. It doesn’t cost anything. And it’s just as useful. Perfect for that early training kind of phase in your chat, in your chat, JBT kind of discovery. There’s also Claude, there’s also the Elon Musk one. There’s hundreds of them now. Yeah, there’s heaps of them now, right? So I really encourage people to do that because If you ask it one question like, you know, what is one of the most ⁓ best books that I can read for, we’ll call it nutrition for nutrition and stroke recovery. That’s just going to decrease the amount of time it takes to find those books and bring that to you. Jump on Amazon, find it, get it sent to your house. ⁓ So I think it’s a great time for people. and it’s never been a better time to recover from a stroke. I mean, it’s a shit ⁓ group to become a part of at the beginning and it’s difficult and it’s painful. But if somebody has a stroke today compared to a stroke 30 years ago. Pete Rumple (50:17)⁓ my goodness. Bill Gasiamis (50:19)Like it’s a completely different experience. ⁓ I think we’re kind of lucky to be living in the time that we’re living. ⁓ Even though I know that people hear about AI and what it could potentially do in some other situations. ⁓ Let’s use it for good. Like let’s break the work. Pete Rumple (50:21)That’s all we’ll That’s right. That’s exactly right, Bill. It can be used for evil, but it can be used for good. So use it. That’s right. Navigating Health Challenges Bill Gasiamis (50:48)Yeah, just like any technology, right? Like you hear all these things, but any technology can be used for good or evil. So let’s just use it for good. Let’s just make the most of it. So before your stroke, you were going through a divorce or had you already been divorced? Pete Rumple (51:08)I was already divorced. Yeah, it had been it had been a couple of years earlier. I had a bad car accident a bunch of but you know the kids live with me. It was just a stress sandwich and I did not go out the right way. Bill Gasiamis (51:27)Yeah. You didn’t go out at the right way because what do you think was behind that? Like, it’s hard to make really good decisions in very stressful times anyway. You have to have an opportunity or the insight to pause, step out of that situation for a little bit, reflect and then try and make decisions. how did you get into that stage where you found yourself not being ⁓ not going about things appropriately, for example, perhaps. Pete Rumple (52:02)For me, Bill, it was like I didn’t have a choice. I was now in a wheelchair. I was in pain and I had nothing I could do but think. And at first that was very negative. It was, I didn’t handle it well. I didn’t accept it. And once I went through that process and I got like, okay, I’m going to get holistic about this. And by the way, I don’t want to, I don’t want to just fix the physical and then I get done and everything else is a wreck. So went after all of it and just started carving up my day, spiritual, cognitive, physical, mental, every day, a block of each practicing writing, all that stuff. So I just started doing it and rebuilt my life. probably like I should have in the first place, but stuff happens. I had to, you sometimes, you know, we, you and I laughed about this before. Sometimes we’re a little thick. takes a little longer. So it took me a while, but I’m there now. Bill Gasiamis (53:18)Yeah. And reflecting on that version of yourself from the past, does that does that person ever come up again, every so often, because we’re talking about all these positive things, all these amazing changes. And I don’t want to paint a picture that it’s only ever fantastic you and I like what we go through after our initial stroke has been all just roses. Is there moments of that things rearing their ugly head and you reverting back, how do you catch yourself when you’re there? Pete Rumple (53:57)Yeah, I mean bill that’s why what’s really good about this is my first podcast with you because we went really deep in the in the darkness of that now bill is beautiful man. It is beautiful. I am almost I almost don’t talk to people about it because My life is so much better because I had a stroke. It’s crazy. It sounds nuts, but it’s so true. Everything’s sweeter. I just, it’s hard to describe. It’s a blessing. Bill Gasiamis (54:38)Yeah, that’s crazy. It is probably crazy. Pete Rumple (54:42)It is? Bill Gasiamis (54:45)I find myself, ⁓ I find myself obviously having bad days. My bad days are related to stress, ⁓ you know, work, if they’re related to ⁓ interactions with people that don’t go the way that I preferred. They’re related to ⁓ what the stroke still does to me after 14 years. ⁓ It still causes neurological imbalances. still causes tightness on my left side, know, that tightness causes dysfunction on my right side, you know, the body goes out of whack. And if I catch it, if I have a bad night’s sleep, things get thrown out and it’s hard to, ⁓ it’s hard to always navigate it and be effective at catching it and then doing something about it, you know, cause you’re human, you get distracted, et cetera. Pete Rumple (55:38)Well, and Bill, you’re bringing up great points because as I transition back to work, I’ll have some potential potholes that I don’t have right now. So I’m very, I’m very conscious of what I’m going to go back into. Now. I love, I love work. It’s my sport and I love it. But, ⁓ and today I have now. bad moments, not bad days. Maybe those occurred, but I’m going to try to stave that off. But that’s just how it is now. as of as of now, that’s that’s the update, if you will. Yeah. Resilience and Consistency in Recovery Bill Gasiamis (56:25)Yeah. Okay. I like that you said that about work, like there’s gonna be some potholes with if you’re doing the type of work that you’re doing. ⁓ That’s pretty high level and high stress and intense for ⁓ at some stages, it could be right, you’re talking at organizations that are going through a hard time that are looking to you to solve their problems, so to speak, or to support them solve their own problems. So ⁓ You know, the ramping that up is gonna need a little bit of thought so that you don’t go too far into that type of work without realizing how far in you’ve gotten. Pete Rumple (57:10)Absolutely right, Bill. You’re absolutely right. And look, I’m going to try to be as bulletproof as I can. The good news is I’ve been doing this work my whole career. So it’s been 40 years. So I don’t think I have to micromanage or get to like, I think I can find the right balance if I can’t. I’ll go to a lesser job and do something else. But so I realize, especially because I can get pretty intense. So ⁓ I realized that is a risk, a very real risk. I’m not shying away from it. I’m not saying, don’t worry. yes, there is stuff to worry about, but I’m gonna, I’m gonna test and learn. Test and learn is what I always do. Test it and learn, can I do it, not do it, do I have to do different, do I have to do something else? Bill Gasiamis (58:14)Yeah, brilliant. How old are you now? Pete Rumple (58:17)61. Bill Gasiamis (58:18)Okay, so at 61, most people are thinking about retiring. What are you thinking starting a new business at 61? Pete Rumple (58:25)Well, mean, Bill, look, let’s be honest, I think the last three years off. So I have some ⁓ room left in the battery. But I mean, part of the reason for this type of job, Bill, is because if we do this, we run it. And we’ll decide how we take care of clients, how we work and all that. And if I have to take on less, take on less. If I can take on more, take on more. And I’m gonna, like everything else, I’m gonna figure it out one step at a time, Bill. And I, you know, I don’t have the answers, but I’m gonna find them. Bill Gasiamis (59:11)And retirement’s not really in the frame for you. Like it’s not something that you’re thinking about, like to ⁓ officially retire, know, step away from the day to day and just, you know, go and sail off into the sunset type of thing. Pete Rumple (59:24)Yeah, I think to your point, Bill, like if I can make this work, I’ll probably work through my 60s. If I can’t, then I’ll have to probably hang it up earlier or do something lighter. And if that’s the way to be healthy, so be it. I’ll do that. Bill Gasiamis (59:43)What else does work bring you though? Because it doesn’t just bring work income. Like it brings more than that. Like for you, I feel like it’s more than just I’m making a wage or bringing in some money or whatever. What else does it bring? Pete Rumple (1:00:02)Yeah, it’s it’s competitive, Bill. It’s it’s my sport. You know, so hitting the numbers in a month and a quarter and a year. That is the scoreboard for what I do. And if you if you do it well, you can do really well and be very happy and influence a lot of people’s lives in a positive way. And if you don’t, it can be really awful. So Fortunately, I’ve been on the right side of that for a long time and I want to get back to it and no ego stuff I just I want to I want to I want to have an impact and I want to enjoy my sport. Bill Gasiamis (1:00:48)Fair enough. Even in your unhealthiest and heaviest before the stroke, were you this energetic? Did you have this same amount of energy? Pete Rumple (1:01:00)I’ve always been energetic, Bill, but I couldn’t operate like I do now. Like my sleep is wonderful. I go hard at the gym. I do projects. I volunteer. Like I’ve been readying myself for coming back in. And look, if I can, great. If I can’t, I’ll adapt. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:27)Yeah. I know when I went back to work, uh, well, I had to, I had to pause my business. have a painting and maintenance. Yeah. I had to pause it. I had to go back into an office, very basic admin role, like low level, but it was so hard being at work, sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day. We started, I started that job in 2016 and finished in 2019. By the time I got to 2019. Pete Rumple (1:01:36)I remember. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:57)I was way more capable of going in focusing on the task at hand and doing the work that needed to be done and then being able to be okay to do the drive home because at some point at the beginning I wasn’t really able or up to the task. But I kind of built ⁓ the muscle again and then got to that stage where by 2019 it was fine. So some people might find going back to work like You know, retraining that muscle of being at work and working and focusing and all that kind of stuff. They might find that it’s gonna take a little bit of time to get there and you might have to step back. You might have to decrease the days, decrease the hours and then go again and then try and find where the threshold is, see if you can exceed it and then see how far you can push it and reflect a year, 18 months, two years. Pete Rumple (1:02:38)That’s right. Bill Gasiamis (1:02:56)down the track back to notice how far you’ve come. Pete Rumple (1:03:00)Yeah, right on Bill. I mean, I’m gonna have been out of it for 42 months, probably when I go back. So I hear you loud and clear, and it would have been really tough to do it. before now. Bill Gasiamis (1:03:20)Yeah. Yeah. And you did have a you had a goal to get back to work a lot earlier. Pete Rumple (1:03:29)Yes, that’s right. And ⁓ that’s another thing, Bill, like I’ll set an intention to do something. I’ll go for it. I’m not ready. I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna do it wrong. I’m not gonna hurt myself. So I set a goal. I try to manifest it, but if I have to push it, I push it. Bill Gasiamis (1:03:51)Yeah. Just before we spoke and started this episode, you’re you apologize for wearing a hat, which is was unnecessary ⁓ because you have a scar on your head because there was a skin cancer found. And before it became a thing, the you got you had it removed. That’s right. So now when So I wanna understand like your mindset now compared to before when you come across ⁓ an issue like that, a health, potentially health issue for people. How do you navigate that now compared to how you might have done things before? ⁓ Proactive Health Management Pete Rumple (1:04:38)Beautiful question. Yeah, I used to avoid all that stuff. I avoided the doctor. I don’t want to do this. I want to there’s always a reason to do something else. Now I lean in, I pay attention, I learn I go in, I may agree or not agree with the doctor on certain things. But especially now because I can think again, took me a couple years. But yeah, I lean in. I want to I want to get in there. I want to know what’s wrong. What’s right. What have you just had my annual exam two days ago ago. It went great. Labs came back great. I I my neurologist that I used to have to ⁓ visit quarterly said Pete I don’t even need to see you annually now. Just if you need me call me. Other than that you’re good to go. And she said, we have not seen this kind of recovery before from what you had. Bill Gasiamis (1:05:43)Yeah, I have a similar experience when I was in hospital. They booked me in for two months. I was out in a month ⁓ in rehab and I feel like they should have asked me what I was doing because It’s really important for people to know the difference between being passive and waiting for somebody to rehabilitate you or being the person who’s driving your own rehabilitation. Like there’s a massive difference and Pete Rumple (1:06:13)Huge difference, Bill. You’re right. Huge difference. mean, last last call, I talked to you from my sister’s house in December, just a couple months, few months after it, I made the decision to move out on my own, which I did, which really stunk, Bill. That was hard. Like, I there were some nights I couldn’t eat. I was like, I can’t I’m either gonna make the the bed or the kitchen, which am I doing? Bed. And I just do it. And but it was important. It was important to start knowing where I could push and not being too reliant. Bill Gasiamis (1:06:59)Yeah, yeah, the less reliant you can be the better, but still also good to be able to rely on people when you need a little bit of support. Pete Rumple (1:07:05)Right on. Absolutely. don’t, you know, it was, there’s not a right or wrong. It’s like, what do you think? What’s your gut? Bill Gasiamis (1:07:14)Yeah. Now let’s do a little bit of a community service announcement about this skin cancer. A, how did you notice it? ⁓ What were the steps that you took after you noticed it? How long did you take? Why did they remove it? And so on. Give us a little bit of information. There’ll be people listening here who ⁓ may have noticed a little bump or a lesion or something on their face, their head, their arm, whatever. Give us a little bit of an understanding of how that came to be. Pete Rumple (1:07:43)absolutely the one thing I’ve done Bill through my life as I’ve stayed disciplined on the dermatologist and I don’t know why I think it’s how I was raised everything else I skipped but the dermatologist I stayed on top of and to your point if I notice something and it seems pervasive like it’s not going away I have it looked at a

FREE Longevity Builder Web Class:https://longevitybuilderwebclass.netlify.app/Longevity Builder Book and Longevity Builder Health Labhttps://secretlongevityoffer.bolt.host/Theme: Why Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF) is the ultimate biological armor against the "Attackers" (Chronic Disease).Host: ShaneFeatured Guests: * John Ranello: 75-year-old fitness practitioner (VO2 Max: 48.5)Professor Ulrik Wisløff: Head of CERG, NTNU; Creator of PAI.Dr. Atefe Tari: Neuroscientist; Lead Researcher on the ExPlas study.The Narrative: Shane introduces the "rare physiology" of 75-year-old John Ranello.The Stats: John's VO2 Max is 48.5 mL/kg/min (Top 1% for his age). Shane's is 54.5 at nearly 60.The Premise: These aren't just "fitness numbers"—they are The Oxygen Shield™.The Core Thesis: High oxygen efficiency isn't about running marathons; it's about creating a system that is biologically "Hard to Kill."The Philosophy: 53 years in the industry. Why he refuses the "retirement" mindset.The Protocol: The 40-minute warm-up discipline and why sprinting is the fountain of youth.The Mindset: The body as a unified, high-performance system rather than a collection of parts.The Analogy: The body as a city; Oxygen as electricity. Low efficiency leads to "system brownouts."The "Attackers": How Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and Stroke cluster where the shield is thinnest.Biological Armor: Why increasing stroke volume and capillary density thickens the "walls" of your city, making it harder for disease to take hold.Expert Insight: Wisløff explains the HUNT Study data—showing that low cardiorespiratory fitness predicts mortality more accurately than smoking or blood pressure.The Mechanism: Moving from a "small engine" (high stress/low output) to a "large engine" (low stress/high output).Moving Beyond Steps: Why "10,000 steps" is a blunt tool.The 100 PAI Goal: The science of maintaining a rolling 7-day score of 100 to reduce mortality risk by 25-30%.The Longevity Builder Health Lab: Shane introduces the technology used to track the Oxygen Efficiency App and the AQ Engine App..

Dr. Andy Southerland and Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran explain the significance of these guidelines and why they are important.  Show citation:  Prabhakaran S, Gonzalez NR, Zachrison KS, et al. 2026 Guideline for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. Published online January 26, 2026. doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000513  Show transcript:  Dr. Andy Southerland: Hello everyone. This is Andy Southerland from the University of Virginia. And for this week's Neurology Minute, I've just been speaking with my colleague, Shyam Prabhakaran, from the University of Chicago, who was the Chair of the 2026 AHA/ASA guidelines for the early management of patients with Acute Ischemic stroke published in the January 2026 online version of the journal, Stroke. So Shyam, in our brief Neurology Minute today, why don't you just give a plea about why these guidelines are so important? Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran: Thanks, Andy. These guidelines are the first guidelines since 2019, so a lot has happened. So when you look at these guidelines, you'll see a lot of new recommendations. In fact, I think the majority have been revised in some way or another. And I'd point to the actual guideline document, which is in the journal Stroke online January '26, and the print version will be for the March edition of the journal Stroke. In addition to that, I'd say because you want to have interpretability and ease of practice, there are a bunch of derivatives on the AHA website that are very useful. They include case studies, they include figures and workflows that could be really useful for you to have these conversations. And there's even a slide deck that was prepared by our AHA ambassadors. There are these young whippersnappers that did a great job putting together a slide deck for anyone to use. They can use that to have conversations locally or anywhere they want. I encourage people, read the guidelines, but then also use the derivative products that people spent a lot of time on developing. Dr. Andy Southerland: Thank you, Shyam. I think that's a great message from the Chair of the writing group, that when you look at these guidelines, they can seem daunting. But the way you all have provided all these additional resources and analogs for people to interpret it and apply it in their own stroke centers and practice, I think folks definitely will be running out to do that, just to seek out the full guideline, and let's apply all this great new evidence to better care for our patients. So Shyam, thanks again for joining us for this week's Neurology Minute. 

Welcome to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments® podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in neurology sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice.In this special Mind Moments episode, Lauren Sansing, MD, MS, FAHA, FANA, Professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine, joins the podcast to provide a clinical breakdown of the 2026 International Stroke Conference and its implications for real-world stroke care. Sansing reflects on how this year's meeting built on prior advances, highlighting expanded global collaboration, greater patient engagement, and a record number of clinical trials presented. The discussion explores which late-breaking studies may influence practice in the coming year, including data on secondary stroke prevention, adjunctive thrombolysis strategies, and evolving patient selection for thrombectomy in extended windows and large core infarcts. Sansing also reviews renewed momentum in neuroprotection research, key updates from the newly released acute ischemic stroke guidelines, emerging pediatric stroke data, and how the conference continues to shape the roadmap for 2027 and beyond.Looking for more Stroke discussion? Check out the NeurologyLive® Stroke clinical focus page.Episode Breakdown: 1:00 – Biggest moments and structural evolution of ISC 2026 3:15 – Presented practice-changing trial data impacting stroke care 7:05 – Thrombectomy strategy and extended window patient selection 10:40 – Renewed momentum in neuroprotection research 15:20 – Neurology News Network  17:40 – Key updates from the new acute ischemic stroke guidelines 25:00 – A brief look-ahead to ISC 2027 The stories featured in this week's Neurology News Minute, which will give you quick updates on the following developments in neurology, are further detailed here: PTC Withdraws Ataluren Submission as Treatment for Nonsense Mutation Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Microbiome-Targeted Agent PLL001 Passes Safety Check in Phase 1/2 Trial of ALS Rimegepant Displays Safety and Efficacy in Study of Adolescents With Migraine Thanks for listening to the NeurologyLive® Mind Moments® podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more neurology news and expert-driven content, visit neurologylive.com.

Dr. Andy Southerland talks with Dr. Shyam Prabhakaran about the 2026 AHA/ASA guidelines for the early management of acute ischemic stroke, highlighting key recommendations, the role of advanced imaging, and the importance of thrombolysis and thrombectomy.  Read the related article in the journal Stroke.  Disclosures can be found at Neurology.org. 

This is Season 3, Episode 17 of The Run TMC Podcast. But first, the Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live. Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 In this episode hosts Duffy Ballard and Dave Levine chat with John Paye about his remarkable multi-sport career — from Menlo High to being a 2-sport star at Stanford, eventually playing with the 49ers and winning a Super Bowl ring, and his long, successful run as a high school girls basketball coach (including 4 state titles). They cover coaching philosophy, the evolution of girls' basketball, John's progression as a two-sport Division 1 star, and memorable moments with legends like Joe Montana and Bill Walsh. Also included are sponsor shout-outs, a glossary segment, and anecdotes about coaching techniques, improvisational communication, and coaching stories that shaped Paye's approach. Enjoy the interview and local updates from Marin County. This interview was conducted on February 22nd, 2026  Show Notes The Run TMC Season 3 popup store is live Click here to shop: https://encr.shop/runtmcseason3 Our friend and former guest Dave Albee is battling kidney disease and needs help. More about his battle here.  (G): Content is Mostly Global Interest Topics (M): Content is Mostly Inside Marin Topics Musical intro credit to Stroke 9//Logo credit to Katie Levine Content and opinions are those of Dave, Duffy and their guests and not of affiliated organizations or sponsors email us at: theruntmcpodcast@gmail.com follow us on Instagram @theruntmcpodcast check out our website at: theruntmcpodcast.com thank you to our sponsors: The Hub in San Anselmo Encore Custom Apparel online and in downtown San Rafael  Batiste Rhum  The Social Klub in Sausalito San Domenico Nike Summer Basketball Camps

Send a textA fourth-generation story rarely follows a straight line, and George Weaver IV proves it. From sneaking into trade shows as a kid and napping under booth tables to helping steer a 90-person team, George invites us into a family business that measures success by people, not just pallets. He shares how his dad's stroke pushed him into responsibility early, what it took to rebuild with humility, and why Westfield Egg Farm chose a model that keeps small family farms alive by letting growers own their birds, feed, and barns.We dig into the craft of specialty eggs—think quail, duck, and heirloom blue—and why small-batch, high-precision packing is both maddening and magical. George explains how that complexity becomes a strength under pressure, especially during avian influenza, when diversified flocks and flexible schedules spread risk without collapsing supply. Strategy here is purpose-led: hire for character, train for skill, and make space for prayer and conviction when the “smart” move clashes with the right move. It's culture as a daily practice, not a poster on the wall.George also opens up about imposter syndrome, the myth that every young leader must plant their own flag, and the harder path of adding value to a mature, multigenerational foundation. We talk practical tools like Working Genius to map strengths and reduce friction, the shepherd's balance between protecting a team and pushing it to grow, and how prison ministry reshaped his view of dignity, hiring, and the stories behind every resume. If you care about agriculture, family business, resilient supply chains, values-based leadership, or integrating faith at work, this conversation will stick.Subscribe for more founder stories and real-world leadership playbooks, share this episode with someone building a legacy, and leave a review to help others find the show. Got a guest idea? Email bmulnix@prismcontrols.com and let's keep amplifying voices that make our industry better.Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism ControlsThe Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism ControlsFind out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com

Neurology is amazing in a crisis. Stroke at 3 a.m.? Seizure in the ER? Modern medicine delivers. But chronic brain issues are different. Migraine. Brain fog. Parkinson's. Alzheimer's risk. These often turn into symptom management with a fancy label and a longer medication list. In this episode of Medical Disruptors, I sit down with neurologist Dr. Ken Sharlin to talk about what comes before the diagnosis gets permanent. Why decline isn't inevitable. And why the real leverage points aren't “more meds” or “more supplements”—it's the inputs that shape inflammation, metabolism, and nervous system stability. Dr. Sharlin breaks down his 5-part clinical roadmap for brain health, explains why getting the diagnosis right actually matters, and walks through the early drivers that can show up years before symptoms become irreversible. We also go deep on migraines—what they really are, why your brain can get stuck on high alert, and how you bring the system back under control. If you want brain health guidance that's grounded, practical, and not fear-based, hit play. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Check us out on social media: drefratlamandre.com/instagram drefratlamandre.com/facebook drefratlamandre.com/tiktok #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters: [00:00:00] Sharlin's path [00:06:10] Acute vs chronic [00:10:20] Five pillars roadmap [00:22:40] Alzheimer's early drivers [00:34:20] Migraine threat circuitry Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/SharlinHealthandNeurology IG: https://www.instagram.com/sharlinhealthandneurology/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.kensharlin1548 Website:https://functionalmedicine.doctor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Originally Aired February 19, 2026: Pickle assault. How you get a DUI while sober. Everything you wanna know about getting "caught" masturbating. Listen & subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music. For more, visit https://www.93x.com/half-assed-morning-show/Follow the Half-Assed Morning Show:Twitter/X: @93XHAMSFacebook: @93XHAMSInstagram: @93XHAMSEmail the show: HAMS93X@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Show notes at pharmacyjoe.com/episode1106 In this episode, I'll discuss the 2026 AHA Stroke Guideline changes to how contraindications to thrombolytics are presented.

Have you ever been told to "just eat less and move more," yet the weight on your legs and arms refuses to budge? In this episode, we shine a light on Lipedema, a chronic and often misunderstood fat disorder that affects millions of women worldwide but frequently goes undiagnosed. We dive deep into the reality of living with a condition that is more than just "stubborn fat." From the physical pain to the emotional toll of medical gaslighting, we explore Tania Saiz's patient journey from confusion to validation. Plus, we are joined by leading specialist, Carolyn Baek, to break down why Lipedema is so often missed, the specific diagnostic criteria you need to know, and the latest medical insights on management and surgery. Carolyn validates what patients have known all along: Lipedema fat is different. She explains the specific texture of "painful fat," and the groundbreaking treatments that are finally offering women their mobility—and their lives—back. This episode bridges the gap between patient suffering and medical solutions. It serves as a toolkit for anyone suspecting they have the condition or struggling to manage it. For more information on Carolyn Baek go to  cbphysicaltherapy Carolyn specializes in lymphatic conditions including lymphedema and lipedema, lymphatic fitness training and performance physical therapy Follow her on Instagram: @thelymphpt For more on Tania's journey - follow her blog A Stroke of Luck Follow her on Instagram @stroke_maven Follow us on Instagram: @every.body.talks @jenngiamo @schully Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening. Apple Podcasts Spotify Be sure to leave a 5 star rating! It really helps grow the show. If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing!

Join primary care faculty Kate Rowland, Gary Ferenchick, Henry Barry and Mark Ebell as they discuss 4 practice changing studies: norethindrone acetate for uterine bleeding with the contraceptive implant, introducing yourself to a new patient, avoiding LPs in febrile infants, and antithrombotic strategies after ischemic stroke with AF and atherosclerosis. And an Olympic quiz!

Welcome back nite crew on this episode the boys are joined by special guest Y'all Eaves Dropping podcast (@yalleavesdropping) and they talk about Valentines day gifts, moaning, missing teeth, bald men are liars, booty eaters and much more!

One spring evening in 2024, science journalist Rachel Gross bombed at karaoke. The culprit was a bleed in a fist-sized clump of neurons tucked down in the back and bottom of her brain called the Cerebellum. A couple weeks later, her doctors took a piece of it out, assuring her it just did basic motor control - she might be a bit clumsy for a while, but she'd still be herself. But after that surgery Rachel did not feel quite like herself. So she dove into the dusty basement of the brain (and brain science)  to figure out why. What Rachel found was a new frontier in neuroscience. We learn what singing Shakira on stage has to do with reaching for a cup of coffee  — and why the surprising relationship between those two things means we may need to rethink what we think about thinking.Special thanks to Warzone Karaoke at Branded Saloon, the Computer History Museum for their archival interview with Henrietta Leiner, either the choir “Singing Together, Measure by Measure” or the Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy which houses it, Daniel A. Gross (... and Shakira?)EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Rachel GrossProduced by - Sindhu GnanasambandanEPISODE CITATIONS:Articles -“Ignoring the cerebellum is hindering progress in neuroscience.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39934082/), by Wang et al, 2025“The cerebellum and cognition.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29997061/), by Schmahmann JD. Neurosci Lett. 2019“How did brains evolve?” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11805823/), by Barton RA., Nature. 2002Books - Vagina Obscura (https://www.rachelegross.com/book), by Rachel E. GrossSign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.