Curley Direct Joins with Tedy’s Team to Fight Against Stroke
Published on Friday, May 01, 2009
Article by: John Curley
About a year and a half ago my wife Elaine suffered two strokes after undergoing major heart surgery. Having still been in the hospital at the time, we were extremely fortunate that the doctors were able to act immediately to limit severe damage to her brain. Throughout her recovery, the inspirational story of Patriot’s linebacker Tedy Bruschi’s recovery and return to the NFL gave her hope that she too could work hard to return to her old routine, which she has managed to do at an amazing pace.
During this difficult time, Tedy’s story not only gave hope to Elaine, but to the rest of our family as well. Last April, my daughter Jaclyn, motivated by her mother’s determination, ran the Boston Marathon for the American Stroke Association’s Tedy’s Team to show her support and commitment to her mother’s recovery. After Jaclyn crossed the finish line we were able to spend some time with Tedy, something neither Elaine nor the rest of the family will ever forget.
While Elaine spoke to Tedy last April she told him that she too was aiming for a “Tedy Bruschi recovery… (minus the football part of course)”. Given the progress Elaine has made in the past year, Jaclyn has decided to join the team for a second year so that after another grueling 26.2 miles, Elaine can tell her hero that she met her goal.
Before Elaine’s strokes, our family was unaware of the startling statistics on strokes. For example:
• Stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death (behind diseases of the heart and all forms of cancer)
• Every 45 seconds someone suffers a stoke
• Every 3.1 minutes someone dies of stroke
• There are 4.4 million stroke survivors
• 29% of people who have strokes are under age 65
In support of both their achievements, I will be donating up to $100 dollars in your company’s name for print jobs in the month of April.
Also if you would like to donate directly to the cause please visit:
http://tedysteam2009.kintera.org/boston/curley
Or checks can be made payable to: American Stroke Association at 10 Emerson Place, Apt 3E, Boston, MA 02114