Lauren Lamm and her father on her wedding day.
Tedy's Team rookie, Lauren Lamm, is taking over our blog this week to share her experience with stroke, and why she is so passionate about raising more awareness.
I am a stroke survivor.
That has been a very hard thing for me to admit over the last 3 years. In February 2016, I suffered a stroke. It was the day after my 25th birthday. I experienced loss of motor skills, numbness in my right side, and a headache. Fortunately, I had no lasting deficits. I had no idea how many people suffer from stroke, and I was in complete denial that I was now one of them. Frankly, I was embarrassed and afraid that this was going to affect my entire life, especially since I did not know the cause of my stroke at the time.
In the days following, I found out my stroke was the result of a hole in my heart known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO). All of a sudden it hit me… “didn’t Tedy Bruschi go through this”? After having surgery to get my PFO repaired on Marathon Monday of 2016, I was determined to do as much as I could to raise awareness for the signs of stroke, just like Tedy.
I worked on ships at that time and would go to the Gulf of Mexico every other month for 28 days. I found out that Tedy’s Team was doing exactly what I wanted to be a part of, but I was disappointed to see that I would not be home for the 2017 Boston Marathon. I was excited for my next opportunity! However, life threw a wrench in my plan.
In March of 2017, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. He was strong and fought hard, but suffered a severe stroke, due to some complications, and passed away on November 2, 2017. I spent 2017 focusing on my dad and the rest of my family, but my father’s stroke reiterated how important this research was.
I was accepted onto Tedy’s Team in 2018 as part of the 2019 Boston Marathon Team and I couldn’t have been happier to not only run for myself, but to honor my dad’s fight. Tedy’s Team is full of amazing survivors and caregivers and I am beyond proud to be part of it. I hope to spread the signs of stroke to as many people as possible so we can raise the awareness that stroke does not discriminate, and timing is everything!
The marathon may be over, but educating people about heart disease and strokes will never stop for me!
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