By Deborah Reed
WKTV Managing Editor
In July 2005, Wyoming native Carol Jennings suffered an ischemic stroke that paralyzed her right side and rendered speech nearly impossible.
Twenty years later, 82-year-old Jennings is living a full life, and she says it is largely due to the care she received at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital (MFB) in Grand Rapids.
“Mary Free Bed, they have angels that live there,” says Jennings. “The therapists work very hard, and they were just wonderful.”
The journey to recovery, however, was not easy – or short.
A long road home
Jennings and her husband Chuck were far from home when she suffered the stroke. On their way home from Boston, MA, the couple stayed overnight at a hotel in Syracuse, NY. Jennings had a headache that night and took medication to help her sleep.
The next morning, they were packing for the trip back to Michigan when Jennings realized something was not right.
“I was going to drive, and I had gone out to the car and fixed the seat, went back in and stroked,” says Jennings. “I don’t remember a thing after that.”
At St. Joesph’s Health Hospital, Jennings received a clot buster injection to help break up the clot on the left side of her brain. The next thing Jennings remembers is opening her eyes to find a nurse leaning over her, asking if she felt better.
“I couldn’t answer her,” Jennings recounts in a book called The Promised Piece. “I could think, but couldn’t say anything.
“I had so many questions, and my lips and my heart were separated by miles. I couldn’t coordinate my thinking or my hearing, and now my eyes were tearing up and my voice was absent. I was instantly experiencing total grief.”
Jennings underwent treatment at St. Joseph’s for 11 days.
Restoring hope and freedom
Mary Free Bed is the nation’s most comprehensive rehabilitation provider and one of the largest not-for-profit, independent rehabilitation hospital systems in the country, states the MFB website.
MBF’s roots date back to 1891, when a small group of women wanted to help people who could not afford health care. Today, MFB works to restore hope and freedom through specialized physical medicine and rehabilitation programs and services.
Jennings was flown to MFB in Michigan where she underwent treatment for another 19 days.
Tough love
Jennings’ entire right side was paralyzed. She choked when swallowing ice chips, liquids and soft foods, making eating and drinking nearly impossible.
Her weakened right hand became the helping hand instead of the dominant. Jennings had to relearn how to perform numerous tasks, such as eating and writing, using her left hand.
Through everything, Jennings’ husband and her lifelong friend, Marilyn Emery, remained by her side. They provided love and support as Jennings worked toward regaining a normal life.
Jennings’ occupational therapist (Kristi) and speech therapist (Marie) also played a vital role in her recovery and provided Jennings with hope. She remains close with both women today.
“They work so hard, even if you stumble and don’t want to do [things],” says Jennings. “They keep you going. They are just so patient; they really are angels.”
Forever changed
After undergoing years of speech therapy for aphasia, Jennings now puts voice to her thoughts and questions. However, that voice now carries a different pitch, and she is often mistaken for having an accent.
When Jennings gave a speech and asked to see the recording, Emery hesitated, knowing the pitch and tone of Jennings’ voice was lower than before the stroke.
“I didn’t know if she should listen to it, but she wanted to use it as a tool for her voice pitch,” says Emery. “She cried when she listened to her speech and said, ‘Did I really sound like that?’”
In order to be discharged from the therapy program, Jennings had to go out to lunch with Chuck and her therapist, order from the menu, and pay for the meal herself. She also had to pass a driving test. Jennings flunked the test the first time because her leg wasn’t strong enough to hit the brake pedal.
But she refused to give up.
“She’s a fighter”
Jennings attended therapy seven days a week, a daunting and difficult schedule.
Tasks that previously took no effort or thought now put Jennings’ sanity and patience to the test.
As Chuck drove Jennings to therapy appointments, he read street signs and billboards, then encouraged Jennings to repeat them.
“I didn’t realize that I had to put my tongue a certain way when I said certain words,” says Jennings, adding that it was one more thing to relearn.
“It came back. Everything will come back, but it takes so long. I learned patience.”
When asked by the MFB marketing department to name the one thing Jennings wanted to do again, her reply was instant: “Dance with my husband.”
In time, Jennings once again danced in Chuck’s arms, their picture gracing local billboards and television screens as a testament to MFB’s rehabilitation skills. But much of that healing and strength came from Jennings herself.
“She’s a fighter,” said Emery. “She is a marvelous witness of what can happen.”
Faith, family and friendship
A large part of Jennings’ healing, she said, also came from her relationship with God.
“My mind never shut down, but I couldn’t talk much. All of a sudden, I said, ‘You know, Lord, if you want me to live, what do you want me to do? I can’t do anything.’”
Jennings would talk with God daily as she struggled in therapy.
“Just going there helped me to realize that God had to be working for me because some days I couldn’t work for myself,” said Jennings. “I would go, but He would give me the strength.
“My relationship [with Him] grew and grew. And He got me better. Better to do what? To help write a book.”
That book, The Power of Friendship: Lessons Learned from Lifetime Friends, details the lifelong friendship of Jennings and Emery – and the impact of true friendship.
When planning the book, Emery asked Jennings what came to mind when she said God. Jennings replied: Center.
“I thought, God will be the center of our book,” says Emery. “That He pulled her through, and she needed Him. We were there because she survived.”
Working on the book with Emery forced Jennings to utilize her mind and gave her purpose. “I felt the power of friendship,” says Jennings. “They were pulling for me, and I thought: I’m not going to let them down.”
“There is power in friendship.”
“Carol told me that the book and all of her friendships gave her purpose,” says Emery. “You remember those people who were there for you. You never forget it.
“We’re sisters. Not of blood, but we’re sisters.”
The friends and family that banded around Jennings during her recovery, Emery continues, is a testament to the impact Jennings makes on others’ lives.
“She’s somebody you don’t forget,” says Emery.
Moving forward – with ink
Five years after her stroke, Jennings returned to Syracuse to meet those at St. Joseph’s who helped her. Being able to thank her “angels” in person gave Jennings a sense of thankfulness and appreciation.
A tattoo with the date of her stroke now encircles Jennings’ right ankle.
“The inking is a reminder that I am a survivor,” says Jennings. “I never wanted to forget what I went through.”
Though not always easy, Jennings continues trying new things – and spending time with friends.
Read more about the lifelong bond between Carol Jennings and Marilyn Emery here.
More information about the book, The Power of Friendship, can be found here and here.
