A Personal Story
A "HEARTENING" OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN
It’s not often that you hear of a 39-year-old woman having a stroke. For Cynthia Macon, it was a horrifying reality.
On November 12, 2003, Cynthia prepared for what she thought would be an uneventful drive along the highway. It would soon become a pivotal turning point that would forever change her outlook on life. In a matter of seconds, Cynthia began to experience sharp pain in her skull – it was an aneurysm rupturing in her brain. “I felt the vessel pop in my head,” said Cynthia. She had just suffered a stroke.
From that moment on, much of what happened next was a blur. After several weeks in the hospital, she discovered she had short-term memory loss. “I realized what happened once I got home and noticed my head was shaved. I remember saying, what happened to me?” said Cynthia.
Doctors discovered that Macon’s aneurism was imbedded deep in her brain. If the aneurysm were removed surgically, she ran the risk of becoming paralyzed. Instead, doctors performed a complex procedure, much like a cardiac angiogram. They went through an artery, bypassing the heart, in order to get to the brain where surgeons packed the tumor with a platinum coil to prevent it from rupturing. “I took everything for granted. I thought to myself, I’m young and invincible, this could never happen to me,” she said.
Following her return home, it would take ten long weeks of intense rehabilitation and a complete lifestyle modification to define the kind of woman she is today. “I feel so much healthier. I’m learning to deal with stress; I just say, ‘whatever’, I try not to worry about anything anymore,” said Cynthia.
At the time of her stroke, Cynthia says she was in a stressful relationship, smoking more than usual, eating fried foods and was unaware she had high blood pressure. “I put everyone else before me, trying to please everyone and not really looking at myself,” she explained.
Today, Cynthia continues to care for others at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center as a Certified Nurses Assistant. Signs of her stroke remain evident with weakness in her eye, but nothing compared to how she was just three years ago.
At the age of 42, Cynthia learned the hard way one of life’s most invaluable lessons and now encourages other women to challenge their presumed well-being. “Try to keep tabs on your health and diet, that’s number one; everything else is second,” Cynthia advised.
