14 ketteringhealth.org Patient story “Just a body” Jeri made it through the surgery, but she had a long road ahead. She couldn’t move, speak, read, or write. She could move only her eyes, but she was cognizant the entire time. “I was lying there in the ICU, and I realized that I was really just a body,” Jeri says. “It’s really hard to watch the world go on without you.” The next 10 months held challenges for Jeri that most people expect to face only once in life—learning again how to speak, write, and even eat. Jeri forced her way through recovery, determined to reclaim the life she led before. In sickness and in health The first time Jeri could eat real food, she chose pasta— her favorite. She bit her cheek with the first bite and threw her tray in frustration. The tears that followed weren’t so much from the pain in her mouth but the brutal reminder of how far she had to go. Dean reassured her they would get through it. He would be next to her every step of the way—but there would be no more throwing trays. The Wards didn’t expect their first couple years of marriage to be filled with appointments, scans, and therapy, but Dean worked with Jeri on her words and walking every day. “I know he said, ‘In sickness and in health,’ but I don’t think he realized that was going to be just a year after our wedding,” Jeri says. A new voice Jeri never heard her original voice again. Her strong Southern accent faded into a blended new sound while learning how to talk again in the Midwest and practicing with her husband, a native of England. “A lot of people thought I was foreign, which is really funny, because I’m from a town with one red light,” Jeri says. “But it was really sweet because it was just a testimony to how hard my husband worked with me to be able to speak again.” Jeri’s stroke took a lot from her. But there is one thing it gave her: a new voice. It sounds a bit different. But she’s using it in the same way—to advocate for others. From survivor to advocate In the large physical therapy room of Kettering Health’s NeuroRehab and Balance Center, inspirational quotes are stenciled on the walls in bold script. But in the small speech therapy room, it was a humble, laminated paper sign, taped to the wall and bearing only three words, that inspired Jeri with new purpose: “Speak with intent.” A message heard far and wide “I remember sitting down in that chair for the first time and seeing that sign and thinking, this can be something amazing—it can be very much what I make it,” Jeri says. “So I really had to make sure that I was intentional about what I wanted to do after my stroke to make an impact— to learn how to speak with intent, but also use my life and purpose with intention. I promised myself that I would make my message wide and large and give back to as many people as possible.” And she has. While Jeri still hasn’t fully recovered, she worked so hard at therapy that she was able to enter— and win—the 2021 Mrs. Ohio International pageant. She now uses her platform to educate people about stroke prevention and symptoms and to lobby for laws that would increase funding for post-stroke healthcare—not only in Ohio and the United States but also worldwide. She has spoken to people in 38 countries and will address the United Nations in June. All worth it “I firmly believe this was supposed to happen,” Jeri says. “People always think I’m nuts when I say that. But honestly, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me in the most confusing kind of way, because I feel like I’m more myself—who I was supposed to be and who I’m supposed to grow into post-stroke. “Knowing that people go to the hospital because of the education that I’ve shared makes me feel like all this terrible time and struggle and heartache and depression and anxiety was worth it,” Jeri continues. “Without this experience, I wouldn’t have been able to save as many lives as I have.” —Continued from page 13 Jeri Ward, pictured with Gov. Mike DeWine, won the 2021 Mrs. Ohio International pageant after her stroke.
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