On June 10, 1996, only weeks before the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) as what remains the only approved management for ischemic strokes and myocardial infarction, Florida native Valerie Greene suffered a massive stroke that left her, as she described it, “mangled up in a wheelchair.”
Greene was only 31, a healthy and successful entrepreneur with a busy social calendar and a flourishing financial planning practice that she’d established three years earlier in Orlando.
Not long after the FDA approval of tPA, Greene participated in a press conference in Tallahassee, Fla., comparing two stroke victims: one who benefitted from tPA administration immediately following a stroke, and one whose stroke preceded the approval date.
“The gentleman I was paired with talked about how he played golf the next week,” recalled Greene, a former Olympic-caliber swimmer who ran the 100-yard-dash in less than 11 seconds. “There I was, unable to function. It was the hardest moment to bear. It was shocking to me the difference.”
Because she suffered a massive brain stem stroke preceded by a TIA only a few months prior, both sides of her body were severely affected, leaving her unable to move from the neck down, powerless to speak, and with permanent hearing loss in her right ear.
“I was lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed, couldn’t talk, and was drooling,” she recalled. “I was told I may not live because I’d had a stroke in the worst area in the brain to be attacked, with the main artery totally occluded. Imagine a highway funneling into one lane ... the flow is significantly interrupted.”
Instead of accepting a dismal fate, Greene worked diligently to recover from the physical – and often-undiscussed emotional and mental – effects of the stroke. She focused on understanding stroke’s causes and symptoms, and grew a quiet determination to help others on their journey to recovery.
“There’s nothing like walking in someone’s shoes,” she emphasized. “I remember what it was like to have no one to talk to.”
Over time, Greene recovered most functions, though she still walks with a limp, has hearing loss, and speaks with a slight deficiency. Yet she’s transformed her life from stroke victim to global stroke advocate. For many years, she was a spokesperson for the American Stroke Association (ASA), and continues to give motivational talks across the United States.
“When I walk into a room, it’s astounding to see the reaction,” said Greene. With movie star looks, she’s often referenced to as the Rock Star of Stroke. “They’ve seen my picture in the wheelchair, and they’ve seen my picture as I am now, but when they see I’m for real, it’s very powerful. They see the light inside of me. I’m a vessel, a messenger of hope. I can’t take credit for that. It’s God working through me. It transcends the human spirit to never give up. Encouragement … is greatly underrated.”
Greene doesn’t fret over activities she can no longer enjoy, such as playing the guitar since the age of seven. “I tried for years to relearn the guitar with the opposite hand and it was too frustrating,” she said. “I finally gave it away.”
She also doesn’t stew over the inability to balance her checkbook.
“I don’t get hung up on those things and whine, or say woe is me,” she said. “Now I say thank God I could do all those things! I’m resolved that I’ve moved into a different level of life. If you always look in your rear view mirror, you’ll never see where you’re going. So many times in life, people try to get back to where they used to be or thought they were. Perhaps there’s something better behind the next door?”
A significant part of her life revolves around Bcenter, an organization of support for stroke survivors and caregivers she founded that has evolved into Global Stroke Resource, a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization supported by the medical community and devoted to bringing hope to stroke survivors worldwide. (See companion article, “Providing Stroke Survivors a ‘Beacon of Hope.’”)
These days, Greene has a different sort of busy social calendar. She starts mornings by scrolling emails, stopping to immediately answer those from people who reached out following a stroke. As a stroke coach, she provides support via online coaching, sometimes around the clock.
“With Skype and phones, anywhere is a stone’s throw away,” she noted.
Once, she dropped everything to travel to the west coast to meet a survivor in person.
“His son called and asked, ‘what are your credentials?’ I thought carefully about the answer,” recalled Greene. “I’m a messenger of hope, I told him, and he said, ‘well, please, get here quick!’”
A two-time published author and contributor to various heart-healthy cookbooks published by national organizations, Greene has appeared on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC to raise awareness of stroke prevention and recovery.
“Before the stroke, I never thought about being a public speaker,” marveled Greene. “It’s amazing what you can do when circumstances change and helping others dictates it.”
A legislative advocate for stroke awareness, Greene was the nation’s top fundraiser for the ASA’s 2004 Train to End Stroke program. The World Health Organization has applauded her efforts, along with the National Stroke Association and an impressive array of celebrities and dignitaries.
Greene’s next mission: to build a world-class destination for stroke survivors and their loved ones to visit for healing, restoration, support and retreat.
“My long-term vision is to take this to a whole new level,” she said. “For me, that would’ve been remarkable. People want it and deserve it and I’m trying to answer that call the best way possible.”
LINKS:
Bcenter: http://Bcenter.org/
Valerie Greene: http://www.valeriegreene.com/
VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mebSsifbe2U
American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
American Stroke Association: http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/
National Stroke Association: http://www.stroke.org/
Power to End Stroke: http://powertoendstroke.org/
U.S. Food & Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/
