My Story

My name is Gene Plaska, and I reside in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.  In 2007, at the age of 56, I suffered a series of strokes that eventually left me paralyzed with the exception of my eyes and a few fingers on my right hand.  Unable to move, speak, eat, and barely able to breathe, my recovery has been nothing short of a miracle.  When I started this journey, my body was completely broken, I had very little hope that I would ever be normal again, and in the beginning, there was no certainty that the bleeding in my brainstem would stop for good and that I would live to recover.  Luckily, with the help of my physicians, family, specialists and sheer will power, I am proud to say that my physical, mental and emotional health has never been better.  Everyday I am thankful to open my eyes and enjoy the world around me.

I’ve created this website as a resource for stroke survivors and their families to know that recovery is often a long and hard road, but with determination, vision and courage, success is feasible.  People often as me, “How did you do this, how did you get better?”  The truth is that after the shock of the stroke, and the depression and anger passed, I decided that I must Refuse to be Helpless if I was ever going to be content in my life.  I wanted to walk again, talk to my grandchildren, drive a car, play golf, but it would be years before I got there.  Patience has always been necessary in this process, but now five years later, I regain more and more abilities month to month.  Setting personal goals and actively working toward them has led me here, and I feel like others can benefit from my failures and successes.

Everyday I visualize new activities and improving my speech, walking and now swimming, and I reach out to stroke survivors in my community to give them hope that things do get better with time and commitment to rehabilitation.  This is my story, and I am thankful to be here today to share it.