Motivating Others Who Have Had a Stroke

By Christian Millman

"I promised myself I'd walk again, and now I can," says Whitney Sherban, who motivates others who have had a stroke.

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In 1998, at the age of 11, Whitney Sherban of Castle Rock, Colorado, was atop her horse, taking a riding lesson with her little sister, when a tangle of fragile blood vessels in her brain—called arteriovenous malformation—ruptured. “I just remember my sister yelling to the instructor that something was wrong with me,” Whitney says.

That would be the last thing she’d remember for three weeks as she slipped into a coma.

When she awoke, a long, difficult process began. She had lost much of her vision. She couldn’t move, not even to touch her tongue to her cheek. She couldn’t chew or swallow. Her ability to speak was extremely limited.

Today, with the help of dedicated medical professionals and her close-knit family, Whitney has reclaimed many of those abilities. She still has some difficulty walking and speaking for long periods. Her vision remains limited. And she has to be careful eating and drinking so she doesn’t choke.

But she defines herself by what she can do rather than by what she can’t. She can attend community college. She can volunteer at two local hospitals. She can strive for the independence of having a full-time job and an apartment of her own. And she can pass on her hard-won hope to others who have been disabled by a stroke.

“Never give up,” she says. “When I couldn’t move, I promised myself I’d walk again. And now I can.”