Violet Wissmueller

Ages at strokes: 81 and 85

Occupation before retirement:  Office worker for Macomb County, MI

Caregiver:  daughter

A description of how my mother described the stroke.  "A storm in her head."

IMPORTANCE: Because I am a caregiver and Home Health Aide for stroke survivors including one in our local support group.

Kenneth McMann

Age at stroke:  69

Occupation before stroke:  Cabinet and Furniture Maker

Caregiver: June (wife)

The quilt square represents the long climb back to independence.

IMPORTANCE:  People need to know how to take better care of their health to help prevent a stroke.

Mary Simpson

Age at stroke:  50

Occupation before stroke:  early childhood educator

Caregiver: Delpha Simpson (mother)

This mandala was created by me two years after my stroke. I use it as my personal logo to represent my philosophy of life, as well as my e-mail address SKYBIRD101@aol.com  The symbolism is: The Yin-Yang represents the ups and downs of my life and the stroke journey.  Jonathan Livingston Seagull flies toward the sunrise light; over my Colorado Mountains and nature that I love.  Reminding me that I am more then this limited body and of my motto....."I CAN FLY!"

Terry Reed

Age at stroke:  45

Caregiver:  Mary (wife)

Square is a dedication to me from my family for the hard times I have been through due to my stroke.

IMPORTANCE:  So that others can understand that stroke is not just a problem for those who have had one, but for everybody.  It affects everybody you have ever known and especially your family and dear friends.

Joe “Grandpa” Turk

(Deceased)

My quilt square depicts a man who had a "smile."  A short round "little man" with a big "heart."  He loved to eat from , and grow wonderful "gardens" in places most could not grow anything.  He would place natural plants to rid the garden of pests, or make a scarecrow to scare away the "birds."  The many "hearts" are for the unconditional "love" he showed to me.  Also the "love" I have for him.  The bird "house" is for all homes he built.  The "wheel barrel" is extra special.  A busy man who worked hard every day seemed to always be pushing a "wheel barrel."  When he died, I wanted his very old "wheel barrel" which I have filled with dirt and flowers.  As a small child I lived with my "Grandpa: and spent many hours with him through out his whole life.  (from his granddaughter)

IMPORTANCE:  Making this quilt square has brought back many wonderful memories of a man full of God's "love."

Ron Eldred

Age at stroke:  54

Occupation before stroke:  Sr. Marketing Manager

Caregiver:  Debby (wife)

This square represents the path of Ron's life - halted in mid-stride.  Ron was extremely active in sports and in the business community.  He enjoyed his life tremendously.  Out of the blue one day, he suffered a massive stroke.  He was young and in good health, we thought.  He has four children and the youngest were in their mid teens.  Everything came to a halt in May, 1996.

IMPORTANCE:  Ron drew a bad hand genetically.  His family hid this from him.  He was health conscious in the extreme.  Sometimes, no matter what we do or how "good" we are, bad things happen to good people.

Dorotea (Bobbee) Eldred

Age at stroke:  81 (deceased)

Occupation before retirement:  Secretary and swimming instructor  

The square represents Bobbee's love of the outdoors and of travel.  Her stroke occurred when she was in the sunset of her life, but she was still extremely active physically.

IMPORTANCE:  Too often strokes and strokees are "hidden" from others.  We are not "defective" and did not necessarily abuse our bodies.  We need to find a cure that is available to everyone.  Stroke is a devastating illness that affects not only the one who suffered the stroke but the family and everyone around the strokee.  Strokes need to come "into the light" of our awareness and education.

 Rodger Miller

Age at stroke:  55

Occupation before stroke:  Principal

Caregiver:  Linda (wife)

After giving 34 years of his life to education at the Odebolt-Arthur School, Rodger's stroke at age 55 forced him to retire from a job at which he was very good and that he was extremely proud of.  He created the O-A Middle School and remained principal of this well-respected program for 28 years.

This schoolhouse quilt block represents the students Rodger always put first and the excellent program he created for them in which they could learn and grow.  The lightening bolt represents the devastation a stroke brings into the lives of every victim and their family, no matter what physical or mental disabilities the stroke causes.  Rodger's stroke took away his speech and his reading and writing ability, a condition called "apahsia", which forced him into early retirement and a shattering of his pre-stroke hopes and dreams.  The sun rising above the cloud and lightening bold represents the new life he and his family have had to build after the stroke.  Rodger has overcome much of the aphasia and is slowly rebuilding some of his speaking, writing and reading abilities through lots of hard work, determination, positive thinking, and humor.  Skills that are evident in every stroke victim!!  Rodger feels that his continuing recovery would not be possible without his family, wonderful speech therapist, Mia, and his many cyberfriends and the Strokee flock.

IMPORTANCE:  On a personal level Rodger and his family think it is important to raise Stroke Awareness so that others will realize that the stroke victim (brain attack victim), no matter what his or her physical and/or mental disabilities are, and still is the same person he/she was before the stroke occurred.  They have to deal with life differently because of their disabilities, but they are still capable, productive, intelligent people.  They WANT to socialize, to communicate, to contribute.  They DO NOT WANT to be lonesome, isolated, and feel useless to themselves, their families, or society.  Because stroke can and does happen to anyone at any age, Stroke Awareness is important to everyone!

Ida Kenney

Age at stroke:  82 (deceased)

Occupation:  Homemaker

Multiple caregivers, but especially Earl, husband

Occupation: homemaker

Incorporated into the square is an 8x8" quilted panel with hearts on it made by quilter Donna Merritt (friend), which was a gift to Ida, of Mission, TX in the early 1990's from her daughter Janet.  On Dec 23, 1998, at the age of 82, Ida had a severe ischemic stroke which left her unable to move her right side, speak, or eat.  She died less than a year later (9-25-99).  Within a few days of Ida's memorial service, Janet read a timely letter to the editor in her local Michigan newspaper describing the Quilt for Stroke Awareness.  It seemed very appropriate to make a quilting square, using the heart panel, that would be incorporated into a stroke quilt.  Ida loved to do crossword puzzles and so a crossword puzzle theme was incorporated in the panel with words that illustrated some of her qualities and interests.

IMPORTANCE:  The American Stroke Association furnished Ida's family with much valuable information about stroke, aphasia, etc.  It seemed very appropriate to make one quilting square, in memory of Ida, that would be incorporated into a stroke quilt, which would be used to raise awareness of stroke.

Jackie Comer

Age at first stroke:  55

Occupation before stroke:  Military

Caregiver:  Janie (wife)

Square represents the Blue Angels and tells the story of love and commitment. 

The two blue angels in the corners visited Jack at night during his bad times.  One was at the window at his bird feeder and one was beside his bed.  The Red Dog was Jack's friend.  She died this October and it was a big loss for our family.  She would stay with him when he was having his seizures.  If he would happen to be up and fall, she would turn him, get him safe and come for me to help her daddy.  She was not given special training to learn this caregiving, she just loved her daddy.  She would come running for me, I could hear her toe nails running and I'd get up and go in there.  The Birds and the Squirrels are his friends that he has fed and talked to for all these years that he has been more or less housebound.  We have on squirrel that will knock on the window asking for food.  This square shows that you can have love and outside interest even though you are housebound.  You have to look for joy and this is where he found it. 

IMPORTANCE:  Because in one second you are living a full life and the next you are in the bed fighting for your life.  If you are a few of the lucky ones, you may live to get out of that bed, if not and you are lucky again, you have someone to love you and be a caregiver to you.  Stroke needs to be made more public.  The general public needs to be more aware of just how dangerous and life threatening this is.  And how fast your world can change.

Nick Ott

Age at stroke:  78

WWII VET

Square represents his life during the depression, war and raising 3 children  during 56 years of marriage.

Jay Dolezal

Age at stroke:  44

Occupation before stroke:  foreman/journeyman lineman

Caregiver:  Lynn (wife)

Square represents Jay's life and spirit

IMPORTANCE:  So that others don't have to go through what we are going through.

Paula-Jean Schuman

Age at stroke:  30

Occupation before stroke:  Warehouse worker

Square represents all the things that I have done after my stroke. 

IMPORTANCE:  So that people know that it's out there and yes, it does exist and that it can happen to you, your neighbor, children.  It's not selective.  That there are ways to prevent it.  But should it happen, that you're not alone, there's always support.

Carrie Hall

Age at stroke: 27, in 1920, during childbirth

The pink and green (her favorite colors) various materials in the log cabin design are to represent how she raised her three children as a single mom and held the family together.  As you can see, she lived a long time after her stroke... a single mom for part of it.  She had Aphasia....speaking and writing were hard for her.  But my mom says she could look at a dress picture in a magazine and whip it out for my mom without even a pattern.  Something I never could do even after years of sewing classes......Amazing!  When I was small...under 8-9, we would visit her in Colorado Springs and while they visited, I would get to look in her scrap material box.  These times sowed some very important seeds in my head!  I later was very interested in sewing and made many quilts, clothes, dolls and almost became a sewing teacher.  She died when I was 10....after her last stroke and being very ill for a couple of years.

IMPORTANCE: Grandma Hall was an amazing lady!  It touched me deeply to be able to represent her in this stroke quilt project.

(Note that Mary Simpson, the granddaughter of Carrie Hall and maker of this square, is also represented here with her own square, as Mary is a stroke survivor, too.)

George Morrell

Age at stroke: 57

Occupation before stroke:  Test Center Supervisor

Caregiver:  Sheila (wife)

We want folks to realize that this weakened survivor was once a take-charge guy with many facets to his life

IMPORTANCE:  It is very difficult to be a younger stroke survivor.  All your friends are so busy, that good intentions to visit rarely materialize.  The life we thought we had charted out suddenly became one we never could have imagined.  I would like to see more national attention to the far reaching impact of each stroke.

John Miller

Age at stroke:  57

Occupation before stroke: Registered Nurse

Caregiver Chris, (15 year old unselfish son)

The stroke quilt square shows a hill with a car going straight up.  This represents my road to recovery with my goal being 100% recovery to win the race!

IMPORTANCE:  For stroke prevention and education.  The more we learn the more we can do for stroke survivors.

Darlene Morin

Age at stroke: 47

Occupation before stroke: APW for MI Dept. of Social Services

The map is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the star on it shows where I am from.  The B-I-N-G-O represents what I dearly love.....playing Bingo!!

IMPORTANCE: So many people in the UP have had strokes, and like me, they did not know anything about them...until IT HAPPENED!  I want to make the people aware of the warning signs of a stroke and what they can do about it, if they occur.  Also to make them aware that sometimes there is not warning!

Donald Simon

Age at stroke:  63; Occupation: Manager

Caregiver Betty Schadt, wife

The date our lives changed forever

IMPORTANCE:  To someday find a cure and hope Donald will walk again.  Also to help raise money for research needed.

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