Young Women Can Be Victims of Stroke Too

As a healthy and active 28-year-old woman, Jai Wu never thought she was a candidate for a stroke. A Captain in the Army, Wu was serving in Afghanistan in 2019-20 when she experienced what she now knows were symptoms of a rare cerebrovascular disorder known as moyamoya disease. What made her diagnosis difficult to pin down was that her symptoms were coinciding with a torn muscle in her left shoulder. Because of her age and the injury, coupled with no family history of stroke or heart disease, medical professionals and physical therapists were chocking up the pain and paralysis in her arm to that injury.

“I had more than ten months of symptoms with no idea what any of it was. I didn’t even google symptoms because I was being told it was nerve damage,” Wu told me recently. Then in July of 2020, during the height of COVID, Wu came back to the States and more severe symptoms began to emerge.

According to Wu, “I knew something was seriously wrong when I was driving, and my head snapped backwards, causing me to black out for a brief second.” She added, “I knew then that my issues could not be related to my shoulder, and I really began to advocate with local medical teams including a neurologist.”

After MRI’s confirmed there was a tangle of tiny vessels at the base of Wu’s skull indicating moyamoya disease, they also could see the evidence of past TIA’s (small mini strokes) she experienced while in Afghanistan. The name “moyamoya” means “puff of smoke” in Japanese and describes the look of the tangle of tiny vessels formed at the base of the brain to compensate for blocked arteries.

Two years later, Wu has undergone two cerebral bypass procedures and has become a major advocate for education about stroke, especially rare diseases. “You know your body best, so advocate for yourself. If I hadn’t said anything, I would have suffered a debilitating stroke.”

Wu was recently selected as an American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women’s Real Women and as one of ShowCase Magazine’s Women who Inspire.

v LYNN CASTLE

For Additional Information goredforwomen.org

Welcome Home! Now What?

Whether you are downsizing to a condo across town or making a cross-country move, relocating is a tremendous undertaking at any age. From beginning to end, the moving process presents tedious tasks and stressful decisions.

After the hard work of moving is complete, you may be blindsided by the amount of effort it takes to establish a brand new social structure and settle into a familiar routine. From our favorite coffee shop to a trusted doctor, most of us don’t put a lot of thought into details of our weekly routines or the effort that went into establishing them.

In preparation for your move, you probably spent a lot of time downsizing and organizing your household goods. Taking a similar approach to finding new social opportunities and service providers will help make the effort feel less daunting.

Start by focusing on the things that you enjoy most frequently. If you love to start the day enjoying your morning coffee at a café, make finding a great coffee shop a top priority. On the surface, this may sound less important than finding a new primary care provider, but prioritizing simple daily tasks that help you feel at home in your new environment will go a long way toward your overall sense of well-being.

As you settle in, try learning about local activities and groups by talking with your new neighbors. You can continue with your favorite activities or take advantage of the opportunity to try something new altogether:

Volunteering

Joining a nonprofit that you believe in will help you to feel more connected to your new community.

Learn Something New

Consider taking a class to gain a new skill or reignite your passion for an activity you enjoyed in the past.

Book Clubs

The best part of a book club is that the topic of conversation is already set so it’s relaxed and easy to get acquainted.