Being Only 33 Was Almost Fatal for this Phenomenal Young Mother:
Kate Klugman
Compiled by Brandi Bard
A lot of people at Kate Klugman's bedside on June 28, 1995, didn't think "stroke".
Sure, on one hand she had a severe headache, dizziness, numbness, slurred speech- all signs of a possible stroke. However on the other hand, she was only 33. She was a dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty; a runner, a golfer, and on the way to certification as an aerobics and fitness trainer. She was, in short, an athlete of vitality and substantial ability. By being 33, it all but eliminated the logical medical consideration of what in a 63 year old might have seemed obvious... a STROKE.
Kate's story of the first hours following her stroke is nightmarish. The underlying theme of the nightmare was that, since Kate was so young, she must be suffering from something other than a stroke.
The ER doctor DID take steps that saved her life. The life he saved, was perhaps permanently marked by damage too far gone to reverse when the stroke diagnosis was finally targeted.
A lesser person might be angry and bitter. However, Kate Klugman is not going to dwell on the past or what might have been. Instead, she's directing her energies to the present and future... hers and other survivors of stroke. Kate formed a support group in the South Bay section of Los Angeles County called BACK ON TRACK. She's also a member of the board of the Stroke Association of California.
Now back to her story... Kate said "I spent 50 days in ICU, during which I was conscious. I could feel everything including pain; but I could not move any part of my body, I could do nothing for myself. I was fed by a tube, I could breathe only by using another tube surgically placed in my throat, I couldn't speak, I couldn't drink, I couldn't move...".
At the beginning, Kate was asked to communicate by blinking, but Kate found that she couldn't even control her own blinking. "The pain," she says "was almost unendurable, but I couldn't tell anyone about the conditions, for every one of the 50 endless days I was in the hospital, it was a good chance it could have been my last."
Some of Kate's anguish stemmed from being separated from her caring husband Steven and their two daughters, Stephanie 5 1/2 and Rachel 3 1/2. "They didn't know what I knew. I knew I would have a miracle, and I did!"
Gradually, Kate recalls, she became a person again; the tubes and the IV's were removed, she learned to breathe, she learned to whisper, and then at the urging of the hospital staff she learned to yell.
"They were trying to strengthen my vocal cords, and then they couldn't shut me up. It took a very long time, but I was no longer the quiet little thing. Life is full of ups and downs," Kate says, "I have been down, now I'm looking up. I believe it's how we react to adversity that changes our lives... I know that I'm not speaking for myself, but for thousands of others like me, who share a bond of kinship based on suffering and upon triumph. The suffering is something beyond our control, but the triumph, the recovery, the reclaiming of lost lives... that is not beyond our control."
From a near vegetative state just under 2 years ago, Kate Klugman has come a long way!
This story was reprinted with permission of the American Heart Association's Greater Los Angeles affiliate. The original story appeared in the spring edition of the Affiliates newsletter, "Heart of LA", story by Rex Malcolm. Contact the American Heart Association (213) 202-5018 to get a copy of the unabridged article.
You can also get a free publication about living with stroke by calling 1-800-Heart LA.
