Three days before Christmas 2013, Laura Pugh woke up just as she had for weeks before—filled with stressful thoughts about what needed to get done that day. Except this time, her right arm didn’t work to turn off the alarm. When she tried to stand, her right leg was useless, too.
That’s when her mental to-do list was replaced by alarm bells.
“When I managed to stumble to the bathroom and look in the mirror, the right side of my face just didn’t seem right,” she told Runner’s World. “When I tried to raise both my arms, the right one wouldn’t lift. I was in trouble, and everything started to get worse.”
Living in San Francisco at the time, Pugh, then 38, hadn’t been struggling with health issues, apart from some high blood pressure. An avid runner, she remembers putting her exercise routine on the far back burner as the holiday crush took hold.
A super stressful sales job, overlapping holiday parties, no physical activity, less-than-ideal food choices, and less sleep than usual—this is the norm for many people at the end of the year, but it sent Pugh’s blood pressure skyrocketing to a dangerous level.
Pugh knew something was seriously wrong, so she called her mother to take her to the hospital. When she arrived, the look on her face made Pugh’s stomach drop with fear. Once they got to the ER, those fears were confirmed.
According to the neurologist at Pugh’s closest hospital, she’d had a major stroke that left her fortunate to be alive. But she was now unable to walk, or use her right side at all, and had begun to drool since her facial nerves were affected.
Feeling numb and in shock, she saw her primary care physician after getting discharged a few days later, and he predicted she could regain up to 65 percent of her former function—but that’s if she worked very hard and got really lucky.
“When I got home from that appointment, the 65 percent stuck with me,” she said. “That’s when I told my husband I’ll cross the finish line of the Nike Half Marathon, even if I had to crawl the entire route.”
Getting Ready to Run Again
Before her stroke, Pugh had nine half marathons under her belt. But at that point in her recovery, she couldn’t even walk without assistance. She couldn’t even get up from the couch unless her husband helped her. The marathon was only four months away.
“My doctor basically thought I was insane,” she said. “But the occupational therapist said okay, it’s a good goal, let’s go for it.”
Part of what helped, Pugh recalled, was a moment just after she’d had her stroke and was lying in the hospital room, with an elderly roommate on the other side of the room’s curtain. As Pugh cried, the woman yelled at her: “Young lady, don’t you do what I did. Don’t you feel sorry for yourself. Listen to the doctors and do your therapy. Stay positive.”
She often thought of those words as she pushed herself to do just a little more, every single day. After a week, she got up from the couch unassisted. Two weeks later, she managed to walk by herself in the neighborhood—what used to take her 15 minutes now took two hours, and she was exhausted by the end. But, Pugh told herself, she wouldn’t feel sorry for herself, and she wouldn’t stop.
“I got on the treadmill and ran for a couple minutes more each day,” she said. “My arm and my leg were getting stronger. I just would not accept that 65 percent. I was going to cross that finish line.”
And she did.
Pugh was able to run the first two miles of the half marathon and walked the rest, crying in relief and gratitude as she finished. Then she got home and signed up for the Paris Marathon.
“I’d never run a marathon, never even contemplated running one,” she said. “But I wanted to show other stroke survivors that they shouldn’t give up. I ran for people who couldn’t.”
Bringing Awareness to a Growing Problem
Like many, Pugh thought strokes were reserved for those much older. And most are—the majority of strokes occur in people age 65 and older, but as many as 15 percent of people in the U.S. who experience a stroke are younger than 45. And unfortunately, the rate is climbing upward. One study noted that hospitalization rates for acute ischemic stroke in those aged 35 to 44 has increased by 41 percent for men and 30 percent for women since 1995.
The recent death of actor Luke Perry at age 52 from a massive stroke is also bringing new awareness to stroke risk among Gen-X, according to Suzanne Steinbaum, M.D., medical expert for American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women and cardiologist at the Mount Sinai Hospital.
Part of the problem, she said, is that many people in younger age groups don’t know their numbers for blood pressure and cholesterol, potentially seeing themselves as immune from “old people problems” like heart disease and stroke.
“There are so many people like Laura who had high blood pressure and then was under a great deal of stress,” said Steinbaum. “Even if you do everything right in terms of eating and exercising, that’s a very dangerous combination.”
Im a Runner: Cynthia Erivo Shoes & Gear, she added, because it acts as a stress reliever and blood pressure reducer, but it doesn’t knock out risk completely.
“Know your numbers,” Steinbaum said. “And if you have a family history of heart disease or stroke, start keeping track of your numbers at an even earlier age than you think you need to.”
No matter what age you are, the common symptoms of stroke are the same: loss of speech, facial droop, weakness on one side of the body, vision loss, slurred speech, confusion, dizziness, or difficulty walking. Getting to an ER quickly is crucial for treatment, so if you or someone else is experiencing stroke symptoms, call 911 immediately.
What does tend to vary is recovery. For some people, that 65 percent that Pugh doctor’s suggested may be as far as they get. help lower your risk that younger people tend to recover better, perhaps because their brains are more able to use undamaged brain circuits to take over some functions, compared to older patients who may have less brain plasticity.
Looking to a Future of Running
But no matter where someone might be in recovery, there is always value in continuing to aim for progress, Pugh believes.
Now 43 and living in Seattle with her husband, she’s become an Exercise like regular running or cycling can and heart health. She ran the Paris Marathon in 2014, and was hoping to run New York, but suffered a stress fracture And she did.
[Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]
Pugh isn’t quite back to her regular speed or the consistent running schedule she used to have, but she’s not sure she ever will be—the recovery time helped her see the value in cross-training and different forms of movement, so instead of a running-only approach, she mixes in plyometrics, strength training, and kickboxing.
Now 43 and living in Seattle with her husband, shes become an Boston Marathon next year. Until then, she’s taking her hospital roommate’s advice and passing the “stay positive” message on to others.
“Whether you’ve had a stroke or not, the advice is the same,” she said. “Self-care is not selfish. Take care of yourself, feed your body and soul with good things, and put yourself first.”
