Have you, a family member or friend suffered from a stroke? Are you a caregiver for a stroke survivor? If so, this fall’s Community Stroke Day can offer you guidance, advice and inspiration.
Northeast Wisconsin’s Community Stroke Day is set for Saturday, September 7, 2024, at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh. It is sponsored by ThedaCare and other local health care systems in Green Bay, the Fox Valley and Fond du Lac. The event is designed to provide stroke survivors, their care partners, family members and friends with a day of learning and networking.
Highlighting the day will be keynote speaker Kate Adamson, a stroke survivor, inspirational speaker, and a licensed medical social worker. Using the lessons learned from her successful battle with Locked-In Syndrome (total paralysis) following a massive stroke, she coaches, counsels and inspires individuals, audiences and agencies to move past paralysis to personal and professional power.
Initially thought to have died following her stroke, Adamson was only able to communicate her awareness of events around her by blinking her eyes. With the help of medical professionals, she began her long, slow journey back to a normal life.
Generous donors to the ThedaCare Family of Foundations helped support the keynote speaker.
Local Survivor Shares His Story
Local stroke survivor Dr. Bruce Hetzler of Appleton will join Adamson as an honorary presenter at the event. A Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience from Lawrence University, Dr. Hetzler is also an amateur magician. He will share his stroke experience along with his magician talents at the event.
Dr. Hetzler suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on July 18, 2011, at the age of 62. He and his wife, Ruthann, had just returned from a trip to Pittsburgh when the stroke occurred.
“We had flown into the Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay, and I’d driven us home to Appleton,” he recalled. “My wife was eager to take a shower, so while she did that, I began unloading our luggage from the car. When my wife came downstairs after her shower, she found me on the floor, barely able to communicate, and immediately called 911. I was initially transported to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton where it was determined that I had suffered a stroke. I was then taken to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah.”
A neurologist at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah determined a blood vessel in Dr. Hetzler’s right thalamus had burst. A neurosurgeon inserted a tube into his brain to release the pooled blood and reduce the pressure on his brain. His situation was critical.
Following that surgery, Dr. Hetzler was put into a medically-induced coma for eight days and remained in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. He was then transferred to a local nursing home to regain his strength. At the time, he had little movement in his left arm and leg, suffered from double vision and unilateral neglect – that is, he did not recognize activity in his left field of vision.
After a month at the nursing home, Dr. Hetzler returned to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah and began three weeks of in-hospital intense physical (PT), occupational (OT) and speech (cognitive) therapy. On October 1, 2011, Dr. Hetzler was able to go home. He received in-home therapy for one month, followed by several months of outpatient therapy.
In the spring of 2012, he was able to return to teaching at Lawrence University, using his wheelchair.
“I had to pass a rigorous eight-hour neuropsychology test to demonstrate I still had the mental faculties to be a professor, which I passed,” he said. “The Lawrence University provost sent me a congratulatory letter welcoming me back. I taught for another eight years, wrote three more scientific papers and then retired in 2019 at the age of 70 after teaching for 43 years.”
Dr. Hetzler said he was very motivated to return to teaching.
“I didn’t want my life to be over after my stroke,” he said. “I wanted to return as best I could to some semblance of a normal life”.
To that end, Dr. Hetzler continues to participate in OT and PT on an almost yearly basis, going in two to three times a week for several months each year.
“It’s important to keep up the work or a stroke survivor can regress,” he explained. “I have been able to walk with just a cane for several years now, but I’m still working to get the muscle tone on the left side of my body to return to something resembling normalcy. Luckily, the brain is quite remarkable. It’s capable of neuroplasticity throughout the life span. It’s just harder to make changes the older you are, and I’m 75 now. I’m definitely not getting any younger.”
As for the contributing factors to his stroke, Dr. Hetzler noted that he had unregulated high blood pressure, occasional atrial fibrillation episodes and sleep apnea.
“I didn’t want to take any medications, and I wanted to try to control my blood pressure through diet and exercise, so my blood pressure was uncontrolled,” he said. “I believe that’s what did me in. Now I take my recommended medications regularly with no complaints.”
Dr. Hetzler’s wife remains his caregiver, and they both joined the local Stroke Support Group.
“When I learned about Community Stroke Day, I quickly volunteered to perform some of my magic tricks and have done so for the past few years,” said Dr. Hetzler. “I definitely believe practicing my magic tricks helped me in my recovery. I look forward to entertaining my fellow stroke survivors again.”
Join Others for Community Stroke Day
Registration is encouraged for Community Stroke Day. Those who register before August 9, 2024, are eligible for a free t-shirt. Visit Community Stroke Day for more information and to register.
Community Stroke Day will be held on September 7, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the
EAA Aviation Museum. The EAA Aviation Museum is located just off Interstate 41 at the Highway 44 exit. It is an ADA-compliant facility throughout and offers easy access for drop off/pick up of physically challenged individuals. Parking is available in an adjacent lot.
