YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Financial adviser, author, and philanthropist Deanna Rossi said she'll never forget the events that unfolded on Aug. 18, 2021.
“Very rare to have a stroke at 43 years old. (I) was not expecting it — was a picture of health,” said the Youngstown native.
The wife and mother of four was traveling on a plane from Nashville to Cleveland with her family when suffered an occipital stroke, leaving her partially blind.
“I was having tingling, but now it starts to go numb from my hair follicles down to my toenails all on one side, to the point where my arm started to claw in,” said Rossi.
During the episode, Rossi remembered her best friend Dr. Kara Sands’ advice and took an Excedrin pill she kept in her purse, which may have helped save her life.
“'Cause it had disintegrated a lot of what was happening with that stroke and thinned my blood," Rossi explained. "When I finally do get to the hospital and they run a scan, they said, 'oh my gosh, you had a stroke, and not like a little stroke — a big, over two-inch stroke.'".
“Deanna sent me a text message and said, 'Kara, I’m in the E.R. They think I’ve had a stroke.' And my world just stops,” said Sands.
Sands, a board-certified vascular neurologist, said one in five women will have a stroke in their lifetime.
In Rossi’s case, yes, she’s one of the lucky ones, but with an occipital stroke, each person’s recovery time can vary from weeks to years — and not everyone regains their vision.
“The main harbinger of a PCA territory stroke is, 'wait what, let me turn my head — I can’t see the football game.' Or, 'hold on a second, I can’t kind of see what’s going on.' It’s usually contralateral. You know if your body is trying to tell you something, it’s OK to overact and go and get checked out. Because you know you have one brain, one body, one chance,” said Sands.
Despite managing her vision loss and having to use talk-to-text to write her latest book, “No Justificuses,” a term she coined around the office, Rossi continues to achieve her dreams.
She said the book has helped her face adversity and, at the same time, teach her kids to always find a way to make it through a particular situation.
Rossi said having a stroke and recovering was humbling, and she doesn’t take for granted the promise of each new day.
“I’m not going to have all my vision for the rest of my life. And you know, the other people end up in a situation where they’re incapacitated in other ways. You’ve got to take every day and really appreciate the moments you have and the abilities that you have,” said Rossi.
Those with diabetes have two times higher risk of stroke.
As for the warning signs, remember the acronym F.A.S.T: face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, time to call 911.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article said Dr. Kara Sands currently works at the Mayo Clinic. This error has been corrected. (May 24, 2023)