After working the night shift as a clerical specialist in the UF Health Jacksonville Emergency Department, Suzette Hardaman’s morning started like any other day. Once home from work, she immediately went to bed to catch up on some much-needed sleep. However, when she woke hours later, things had changed and she knew something wasn’t right. Disoriented and suffering from a lack of balance, Hardaman struggled to stay on her feet and crashed to the floor several times.

“Whenever I got up, I kept falling back down again,” Hardaman said. “I was able to scale the wall and make it to my bathroom, where I called my son to come over.”

Hardaman then called one of the ED charge nurses she knew, who told her she may have had a stroke. Within minutes, her son and one of her co-workers arrived, and the pair took Hardaman to UF Health Jacksonville.

A battery of tests and a CT scan were ordered, and it was determined that Hardaman had a mild stroke. By this time, the left side of her face had begun to droop and she was no longer able to sit up on her own. As time passed, she also succumbed to weakness on the left side of her body. For the next 11 days, she remained under the care of the UF Health Comprehensive Stroke Program to receive prescribed medication along with inpatient rehabilitation.

Research shows patients improve faster and recover more completely when managed in a dedicated stroke facility. The UF Health Comprehensive Stroke Program – Jacksonville provides inpatient and outpatient services for the diagnosis, management and rehabilitation of stroke patients. The program features state-of-the-art methods for the treatment of strokes and has received accreditation from the Agency for Health Care Administration.

Ryan Crooks, MD, vascular neurologist at UF Health Jacksonville, explained that Hardaman’s condition is an unfortunate but common one.

“On a positive note, we have a lot of experience dealing with stroke patients and the field of stroke-related care is constantly improving. Our ability to treat strokes is well beyond what it was just five years ago. Patients have never had a better chance to recovery and return to a more independent standard of living,” Crooks said.

Once discharged from UF Health Jacksonville, Hardaman’s fight continued. She transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility to regain her strength and balance to be able to return home more independent in her day-to-day life. Working with occupational and physical therapists, along with dedicated nurses, Hardaman steadily began to regain some resemblance of her life prior to her stroke.

After a few weeks, she completed her inpatient care and looked forward to the final steps before returning to work. Hardaman returned home and continued therapy on an outpatient basis at UF Health Rehabilitation – Jacksonville. Christina Hampton, physical therapist, worked with Hardaman to increase her mobility on her left side.

“Christina was the best,” Hardaman said. “She pushed me to work hard, and I regained my ability to move, along with the confidence that I could get back to the way I was before my stroke. I saw her for more than six months, and she was phenomenal.”

“Ms. Hardman’s condition was serious, but she stuck with the therapy programs established by her therapists and steadily improved,” Hampton said. “We use a multidisciplinary approach to provide individualized and comprehensive care. By addressing the rehabilitation needs of each patient, we provide techniques and exercises to assist our patients to improve their mobility, increase their independence and quality of life.”

Hardaman completed her outpatient rehabilitation and was cleared for light-duty work. She still has some lingering pain and benefits from the assistance of a cane, but, at almost two years since her stroke, Hardaman continues to improve and was determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid the possibility of issues in the future.

“I try to eat right and keep walking as much as possible,” Hardaman said. “I know how lucky I am to be here, and I’m grateful  to all the doctors, nurses and rehab therapists that helped me out along the way.”

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in the United States, about 800,000 people suffer from strokes every year, and nearly a quarter of strokes occur in people who have had one before. It is the leading cause of acquired physical disability in American adults, and the fourth leading cause of death. Northeast Florida is part of a region referred to as the “Stroke Belt,” where strokes are most common in the United States. Maintaining control over high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol will greatly reduce your chances of having a stroke.

For more information about stroke and the UF Health Comprehensive Stroke Program, visit UFHealthJax.org/stroke.