SerIoUS DeterMINatIoN AND AMAZING FRIENDS

BY SUSAN A. STIBBE SKYLOFT PHOTOGRAPHY

On December 8, 2011, Mari Odegaard, a vibrant 27-year-old, was preparing for a trip to Los Angeles. An avid runner, she decided to go for one last run before leaving for the airport. She tripped, “felt funny,” and lay down as soon as she returned home. She called a friend, who thought Odegaard might be having a panic attack and advised her to drink water. When her friend realized Odegaard sounded confused and was making little sense, she called another friend. They rushed over, drove her to Sanford Hospital and helped her into the emergency room. It was not a panic attack. Pretty, young, athletic Mari had suffered a catastrophic brain stem stroke.

When she arrived at the hospital, she could barely move and could not sit up on her own. She was unable to swallow for 48 days, which meant inserting feeding tubes. “That was painful,” she said matter-offactly, with no trace of self-pity. “I still have scars on my stomach.” According to Odegaard, 85% of brain stem strokes are fatal. She remained at the Sanford Hospital in downtown Fargo for 19 days and was then transferred to the rehab facility on South University Drive for 12 weeks. “I didn’t lose any cognitive ability,” she explained, “it was all physical.”

The brain stem, located at the base of the brain, is a small area that controls the basic functions of life. Since it is such a small area, it is slow to remap after a trauma. Odegaard’s stroke affected many of her basic abilities: balance, speech, movement and temperature control. Her right side doesn’t feel temperature and her left side is ataxic, which means she can’t always control her movement on that side. “Sometimes my leg will take too big a step,” she said. She now walks with a walker and continues out-patient rehab with a physical therapist five days a week.

In spite of everything Odegaard says, “I have some amazing friends.” Those friends have remained a constant support in her life. They take her to and from therapy every day, they call, they visit, they organize coffee dates, and in May they accompanied Odegaard when she completed the 5K at the Fargo Marathon using her walker.

Odegaard said, “I couldn’t believe the community support for me.” She was working at the HoDo in downtown Fargo at the time of her stroke. “I loved working there,” said Odegaard, “and they had an awesome benefit for me with an awesome silent auction.” An artist friend from Los Angeles donated art for the auction and then surprised her by flying in for the event. Another benefit was held at Hawley Lutheran with music and a meal. Odegaard grew up in Hawley, Minnesota and her parents, James and Melanie, continue to live there. She graduated from Hawley High School in 2003 and some of her “amazing friends” are from that community.

Amazing is a word that could also describe Odegaard. She lives alone in an apartment in downtown Fargo. “The money generated from the benefits allows me to remain independent,” she explained. “That is very important to me. They (health experts) say it is unusual for someone like me to live on their own, but I’m stubborn.”

That stubbornness, or rather determination, is what drives her to do more and more. “If you choose to let yourself, you can say this sucks,” said Odegaard, “but I’m 28 and I have a life ahead of me. I’ve always been very driven. I always wanted to succeed, to learn. You waste life when you become stagnant, either mentally or physically. It has always been the negative that scares me into the positive. Fear of becoming dependent pushed me the other way. I’ve decided to re-assign a new normal to my life.”

That new normal means continued determination to achieve some new goals. “I am not going to stop until I can run again. My original goal was to run a marathon before I turn 30, now I think it will be 35,” stated Odegaard. She would also like to regain more of her speaking abilities. She was very involved with plays and musicals throughout her life and finds it frustrating not to always be able to say exactly what she wants. “I was such a vocal person,” said Odegaard. “I’m so strong-willed, I want my opinion heard. I lose words, I want to be more verbal.”

That strong drive and determination shines through in everything she says, making it easy for the listener to understand her. She said she would like to start a blog for handicapped and disabled people that would help them choose travel destinations that are accessible. She explained, “I have always loved to travel and would like to continue to travel. All the travel shows on Tv are for able-bodied travelers. Life is not over just because you can’t walk.” She would also like to go back to school and finish her psychology degree. “I would love to work with people with brain injuries,” said Odegaard.

No doubt Mari Odegaard will achieve her dreams, especially with a little help from her “amazing friends.” After all, Odegaard herself, is the one who is truly AMAZING. Odegaard has a website complete with updates at MariOdegaard.com. [AWM]