Guts to Glory

Life Should Be Lived to the Fullest

By Rebecca Ralston

At the age of 17, Angela Lopez was like any other teenager, except she had a blood disorder that made her body produce too many clotting factors. She spent much of her high school life in and out of hospitals, visiting oncologists and hematologists, fearing her clotting disorder had developed into leukemia. Despite routine hospital trips and chemotherapy treatments, Angela was able to maintain a normal and happy life, graduating with honors from high school one year early and continuing on to college.

While in college, Angela developed severe migraines. While doctors informed her that the head pain had no connection to her clotting disorder, they provided no solution to the constant pain that often left Angela in the hospital.

“I was hospitalized several times and made regular visits to the doctor’s office or emergency room when my migraines became unbearable,” Angela explained.

At the age of 22 years old, Angela experienced the worst migraine ever. She immediately had her boyfriend drive her to the hospital where the rest of the night became a blur.

“I was vomiting, extremely weak, and felt exceptionally hot,” said Angela. “At one point, I remember the doctor asked me to lift my right arm. While my brain told me I had completed the action, my arm didn’t move. I had absolutely no feeling in my right arm and was experiencing partial loss of feeling in two fingers on my left hand.”

After hours of tests, the doctors finally discovered that Angela had experienced multiple strokes, in multiple areas of her brain. The next day she was also informed that she had suffered a heart attack as well.

Like any 22-year-old female experiencing the commonly misperceived “older man’s disease,” Angela was flabbergasted as to how it could have happened to her.

“I did not have any signs or symptoms. I was only 22; I worked out four to five days a week and I was in great physical condition. I did not smoke and did not take birth control [medication]. I have worked in the medical field since I was 18 and I was studying pre-med. I knew the risk factors and I had none of them,” Angela explained.

Over the next few months, Angela spent her time in and out of hospitals, overcoming unexpected abdominal surgeries and a hemorrhage in her brain. Despite these challenges, she has been able to recover from her heart attack and stroke and thrive in her own life.

“Now, I am relatively healthy. I was able to regain full use of my right arm; however, I only have partial feeling in two fingers on both my right and left hands. My heart finally looks like the heart of a 27-year-old woman and I only have a few small bothersome effects of the stroke, but it hasn’t slowed me down. I went on to graduate from the University of Oregon, married the love of my life and realized just how important family and friends are. From this experience, I learned that strokes and heart attacks could happen to anyone. I am proof of that. It may sound cliché, but my experience has taught me that life should be lived to the fullest.”

This year, Angela is participating in the 2009 Start! Greater Portland Heart & Stroke Walk on May 16th with friends and family members so she can celebrate the challenges she’s overcome and the fantastic life she has ahead of her.

To join Angela in support of the American Heart Association’s Start! Heart & Stroke Walk, visit www.greaterportlandheartwalk.org or contact Shelli Blank at shelli.blank@heart.org or call 503-595-2273.