A stroke can be deadly, but for those who survive, it can come with many complications - from varying degrees of physical impairment to memory loss.
This life-altering shift might leave some feeling hopeless, but as our KNX Hero Doris Hernandez-Morales tells host Heather Jordan, there's room for growth and renewed strength.
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"You are here for a reason; I really truly believe that and always have the strength to continue," Hernandez-Morales said.
In 2002, Hernandez-Morales suffered a massive stroke while she was five months pregnant, but remarkably, she survived, and her baby was born completely healthy.
During the first five years of recovery, Hernandez-Morales could not talk and had minimal mobility, but one Saturday, "I was looking at my husband, and I said for the first time in five years - 'hi baby,' I started crying."
One piece at a time, Hernandez-Morales is building back her language capacity in English, which she says is at about 90%, and Spanish, which is about 6% of where she was before the stroke.
Act F.A.S.T. to identify stroke via CDC
Despite doctors telling her she would never walk, have a family, or work Hernandez-Morales becomes more mobile every day, has had a second child, and is now volunteering at the Rehabilitation Center at Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital Medical Center.
Hernandez-Morales knows what it's like when things get overwhelming and how depression can creep in, but she wakes up with love and gratitude every day - passing that strength along to fellow survivors.
This Northridge mother of two is using her own experience to help stroke survivors thrive, making her our KNX Hero of the Week!
Check out all our KNX Heroes here.
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