Meet Valerie, a stroke survior .

Valerie’s mornings were usually pretty routine. But in March 2004, one particular morning was anything but routine. As she got ready for work, she sensed that something was wrong, but couldn’t quite grasp what it was. After picking up her neighbor, who she promised to drive to work and pulling out into traffic, something changed. Valerie suddenly realized that she couldn’t speak and she didn’t know why. She was having a stroke – and she was only 39.

Her neighbor managed to get her back to her house and with the help of her housemate, Susan, Valerie was rushed to a local hospital. The hospital diagnosed that she had just had a stroke and was able to intervene with clot-busting drugs.

It is unusual for a healthy young woman like Valerie to have a stroke. During her stay at her local hospital, Valerie’s physician diagnosed her with Factor V Leiden deficiency, which is a hereditary blood disorder that indicates a high risk for clotting complications – but, some questions still remained. With no answers of their own, Valerie’s physicians turned to noted neurologist and stroke specialist, Dr. Jose Biller at Loyola University Health System.

Given Valerie’s age and health, Dr. Biller conducted several tests to determine if there were other factors that contributed to her stroke. He found that in addition to the blood disorder, she also had another clotting disorder, known as antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, and the two together most likely caused her stroke. Because genetics played a role, Dr. Biller recommended that Valerie’s entire family be tested. While the rest of her family tested negative, her father was also diagnosed with Factor V Leiden deficiency. Her father was so impressed with the quality of care Valerie received from Loyola, that he scheduled treatment there as well.

The diagnosis of both Valerie and her father could have been a very discouraging time but she doesn’t look back on it that way. “Everybody at Loyola was great. My nurse, Linda Chadwick, was wonderful. Dr. Biller was very warm and answered all [of] my questions. They helped me maintain a very positive attitude.”

After six months, Valerie was able to resume her long walks and visits to the gym. By this time her dad’s condition was under control, too, and he was able to join her at the gym. Valerie felt doubly blessed. “Not only do I have my life back, but I have my gym buddy as well. If I hadn’t had my stroke, we might never have found out about my dad’s condition until he had one.”

Although some disorders, such as Factor V Leiden deficiency, may be difficult to detect (unless there is a reason to test for it), don’t ignore sudden unexplainable symptoms. Most people don’t believe that a life-threatening event could happen to them. Valerie has some advice for those people: “Pay very close attention to your body. If something doesn’t seem right, get it checked out.”