On a cold winter night in December 2019, Deanne Meseck of Rockford, Illinois, couldn’t wait to dig into her store-bought meal of roasted chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes. She had just completed a colonoscopy earlier that day and was famished.

But as she and her husband, Ryan, started eating, her life at age 47 changed forever.

Ryan noticed food was dropping from the left side of her mouth. Concerned, he told his wife to put her arms up, but Meseck couldn’t lift her left arm. And when he asked her to speak, her words were jumbled, so he immediately called 9-1-1. A crew arrived and suspected Meseck was having a stroke.

Meseck was taken by ambulance to OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, where she underwent a battery of tests and procedures. The diagnosis came back as an ischemic stroke from a blood clot.

Ischemic strokes, caused by a blocked vessel, account for about 87% of all strokes, and roughly 60% of strokes among people under 50.

Michele Johnson, APRN, is a nurse practitioner at OSF HealthCare, and Meseck’s primary care provider. Johnson says Meseck had a large-sized right middle cerebral artery stroke, that affected half of her brain.

“Anytime somebody goes in for a stroke, you have to look at what type of stroke,” says Johnson. “What was it caused from? Was it from a blood clot? Is it a bleed? Just trying to figure those things out initially, in the emergency room and in the hospital.”

Meseck required surgery to relieve the swelling in her brain. She suffered respiratory depression from pneumonia, which required being on a vent for an extended period. After spending weeks in the hospital, Meseck was moved to a rehabilitation facility, followed by extensive physical, speech, occupational and ophthalmological treatment, some of which is ongoing.

Turning a corner

Johnson says despite tremendous progress, Meseck will always have some limitations. 

“With the contractures (stiffness) of the hands, going back to therapy is important, some speech impediment, some visual problems and the weakness, she has progressed significantly since this all occurred,” Johnson says. “But there will always be some permanent disability.”

Perhaps the hardest part for Meseck was giving up her 26-year career in finance. “They were just really worried about what being in a stressful work environment would do,” says Meseck. "There was no way that I could hold a nine-to-five job.”

While the physical toll was hard on Meseck, the mental hurdles proved equally challenging. She sought mental health therapy, which gave her a new perspective while coping with severe depression.

“I spent a lot of time with a therapist talking about how I lost my identity, and I lost my whole way of life and had to figure out how to be a new person,” she says.  “That was probably as difficult as any physical therapy that I had.”

Meseck filled her days by walking her dog, streaming TV shows and enjoying time with her two-year-old grandchild. But as she worked to heal both inside and out, Meseck, now 53, was searching for an opportunity where she could make a difference, especially for people going through similar challenges.

Giving back

She started attending a local, monthly group for stroke survivors. In 2024, the organizers of the group planned a benefit walk, and Meseck was on board, recruiting friends and family to form a team. But when she found out there wouldn’t be a second walk the next year due to a lack of volunteers, Meseck knew what she needed to do. She and her sister, Shelly, rolled up their sleeves and started planning the second annual walk, which takes place on May 30 in Rockford. Proceeds from the event support a stroke camp for survivors.

Meseck says coordinating this major special event is her new calling.

“I want to motivate people to know that there is life after stroke,” she says. “It may be hard to find it, and you won't be the same as you were, but you can do it. If I can do it, anybody can do it.”

Johnson says the timing is right for Meseck to take on her latest challenge of planning the walk. 

“It is good for her to have a purpose because she was so busy before,” says Johnson. “This does give her joy. It’s important to hear from somebody like Deanne; there are treatments out there and you can live and function. Maybe not the way you did before, but there is life after stroke.”

Meseck says her journey is far from over. She knows that she will always be in constant recovery. And she can live with that.

“It was difficult,” she says. “But I just kept waking up every day saying, 'You know what, I'm here, and there's a reason I'm here.' You have to find a silver lining.”

When to seek emergency help

Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number right away if you or someone you're with has signs or symptoms of a stroke.

Use F.A.S.T. to remember warning signs.

• Face. Does the face droop on one side when the person tries to smile?
• Arms. Is one arm lower when the person tries to raise both arms? Is one arm weak or numb?
• Speech. Can the person repeat a simple sentence? Is speech slurred or hard to understand?
• Time. Every minute counts during a stroke. Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number right away if you see any of these signs.

Deanne Meseck interview clips 

Michele Johnson interview clips 

B-roll

We have all heard the warnings when it comes to stroke: time lost is brain lost. Every minute a stroke goes untreated, the brain loses nearly two million brain cells it can never recover, and every hour of stroke is equivalent to losing over three and a half years’ worth of brain cells. 

While acting quickly during a stoke event is imperative, there are some medical advances that can help prevent a stroke from occurring in the first place especially in those with carotid artery disease.

Carotid artery disease occurs when fatty deposits, or plaques, clog the blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain and head (carotid arteries). These blockages dramatically increase the risk of stroke.

“It can lead to lightheadedness, or feelings of dizziness, or losing consciousness sometimes, but most importantly stroke,” says Dr. Sourabh Lahoti.

Dr. Lahoti is an interventional neurologist at the OSF Illinois Neurological Institute (OSF INI) in Peoria, Illinois. He says a procedure called carotid artery stenting has proven to alleviate the risk for patients with carotid artery disease.

During carotid artery stenting a small catheter is threaded through a blood vessel, eventually reaching the carotid artery. A balloon is inflated to dilate the narrowed segment of the artery and then a wire mesh stent is placed across the blockage. The stent will become a part of the artery wall as a part of the natural healing process, eventually strengthening it, widening it, and helping to prevent future blockages.

Carotid artery stenting is typically done by running the catheter through the femoral artery – a main artery in the groin. It is generally a successful procedure, but because the femoral artery is so large it takes time to close. Patients need to lie flat and still for hours post-procedure and are limited in activity in the days following to prevent complications. Unsuccessful closure can lead to serious bleeding issues.

Dr. Lahoti is the first surgeon in central Illinois to offer carotid artery stenting via the radial artery: something he calls a game changer.

“It is very exciting. And I'm glad to be in a time where the field of neuro interventional surgery is going through this phenomenal, and honestly revolutionary change, because it has completely changed the way we approach cerebrovascular diseases and the way we treat them,” says Dr. Lahoti.

With the minimally invasive radial approach, a small poke is made in a patient’s hand to gain access to the radial artery. The catheter is inserted, and a carotid artery stent is placed in the neck. According to Dr. Lahoti, the radial approach reduces the complications of bleeding, severe bruising and pain. 

“The biggest advantage is that after we are done, we don't have to stitch anything,” explains Dr. Lahoti. “We don't have to put in any device, and the artery in the wrist is much smaller than the one in the leg. And it's very easily accessible. So all we do is put a band across the wrist to save it from bleeding, and the band stays for a couple of hours, and then we are done.”

Carotid artery stenting via the radial artery requires no anesthesia, and the patient is able to get up and walk around following the procedure with no restrictions, other than lifting heavy weight with that arm for a few days.

Conversely, patients who receive a stent through the femoral artery are required to remain in bed for four to six hours after the procedure.

“As soon as we're done, patients can get up. They can walk. They can move around as if they didn't have any procedure at all.”

Not all patients qualify for carotid artery stenting – either through the radial artery or the groin – and some may be recommended for drug therapy or even a carotid endarterectomy, where a surgeon makes an incision on the side of the neck and surgically removes the plaque inside the artery.

Dr. Lahoti says each case is evaluated on an individual level, and the most important thing is getting the blockage addressed and reducing the risk for stroke.

Many people suffering from carotid artery disease don’t know they are affected. Dr. Lahoti suggests keeping up with yearly physicals with your primary care physician, and having open and honest conversations about lifestyle choices like smoking status, diet and activity levels.

For more information on carotid artery disease, its symptoms and treatments visit osfhealthcare.org.

Interview Clip - Dr. Sourabh Lahoti