Secily's Story

Secily, a thriving broadcast journalist, decided to train for a half marathon when she was 39 years old, with a goal to cross her first finish line by the time she turned 40. But, right before her very first race, she suffered a stroke. Strong-willed, she made a full recovery and went back to life as usual. Ten years later, Secily was on the air for the evening broadcast when her words began to slur. She was having a second stroke. This time, she lost her ability to speak.

A self-proclaimed super woman, Secily was determined to get back to normal right away. She worked with a speech pathologist at AdventHealth who helped her to develop a plan to regain her ability to speak. But her energy was still so low. Just moving around the house exhausted her and, no matter how often she practiced the materials the speech pathologist gave her, nothing was working. Her voice — broadcast-quality and with precise enunciation — was her lifeline and she was devastated. But that devastation was the bottom she needed to hit before her superpowers were revealed. Secily found the strength to keep pushing beyond her wall, working with a therapist and staying vigilant about her recovery. In time, she reclaimed her broadcast-quality speech.

Today, Secily uses her platform to teach others how to identify a stroke. She's sharing the information with anyone who will listen in hopes that if more people know the warning signs, it will lead to sooner detection and a quicker path back to whole health.