September 30, 2024 • 23 mins
What happens when life throws you an unexpected curveball at the age of 35? Meet Matt McCoy, whose world was turned upside down by a stroke, leading to profound changes in his daily life, from losing his job to the inability to drive and even struggling to access basic necessities. In this compelling episode, Matt opens up about his journey through the dark days of depression and weight gain, initially resisting help, until the unwavering support from his parents helped him find a way through. Matt’s story is a testament to the power of community and the importance of asking for help when you need it the most.
Discover the heart behind Stronger Together Wellness, Matt’s innovative initiative aimed at connecting stroke survivors with essential resources and personalized coaching to bridge the gap between medical care and home life. Learn about the pivotal role of peer support in recovery, drawing inspiration from addiction recovery models, and how this approach can make a significant difference for both survivors and their caregivers. This episode also sheds light on the often-overlooked reality that strokes don’t just affect the elderly, highlighting the challenges faced by younger survivors and their caregivers. Join us for a heartfelt conversation on resilience, recovery, and the transformative power of support systems.
https://www.strongertogetherwellness.com/about
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Laura (00:09):
Good morning.
I'm your host, LauraWagner-Kanesh, owner of Mosaic
Business Consulting, and you'relistening to the Mosaic Life
with Laura W.
A mosaic is a bunch of piecesthat, when put together, make up
the whole in a really beautifulway, and this show plans to
discuss the various pieces of abusiness throughout different
industries and how these pieces,when put together, can help
(00:31):
develop a better, more efficientand effective running of your
business.
To reach me, contact bizradious.
Today, my guest is a unique oneMatt McCoy.
Matt holds a BS inenvironmental studies from UNCA.
He is a certified peer supportspecialist in North Carolina and
he is the inspiring founder andcreative director of Stronger
(00:56):
Together Wellness For 14 years.
Here's his big secret Matt hasbeen a resilient stroke survivor
whose firsthand experienceignites his commitment to
advocacy and support.
He established, excuse me,Stronger Together Wellness after
recognizing the profound impactof support groups during his
(01:18):
volunteer work, cleverly mergingprofessional guidance with
personal insights, Throughinnovative programs and a
compassionate approach, Mattempowers individuals on their
wellness journey, promoting theidea that together we can
overcome life's greatestchallenges.
Wow, I just love thatcombination, Matt.
(01:38):
Welcome to the show.
It is great to have you here.
Matt (01:41):
Thank you, Laura.
It's great to be here today.
Laura (01:43):
And I got to start out with okay, because you're a
young guy.
When did this stroke happen?
How old were you?
Please tell us about thisjourney of yours.
Matt (01:57):
Yeah, I was 35 years old when it happened.
Yeah, early January of 2010,.
My whole world changed.
It was a devastating event andI couldn't believe that it was a
stroke.
Even the doctors weren'tcertain in the very first visit.
(02:17):
And then after about three days, going back to have it checked
out, get checked out.
I wasn't getting any better.
They said, well, you've had astroke.
And yeah, it was devastating.
Laura (02:31):
Yeah, and so what was the impact that this had on you?
Matt (02:35):
So I was at Mission Hospital for a week and then
transferred over to CarePartners here in Asheville for
about three weeks and for me,the effects that I had mainly
suffered on the left side of mybody.
The stroke happened up on theright side of my brain, so left
side had partial paralysis,dealing with a lot of balance
(02:57):
issues and some blurred vision.
And so I, you know, I get out ofcare partners and I go home,
and the impact is is even morenoticeable at that point because
I don't have all these carecaregivers around me.
It's basically I'm alone there,and so without resources,
without without much at all, but, but just some confusion and
(03:23):
what to do now.
Laura (03:24):
Yeah, and, and I can only I can't even imagine, I have to
admit.
But you know, what did this dofor you in terms?
I can only assume you wereworking and you were.
You had a life, you know, priorto that.
I'm just wondering whathappened.
Matt (03:43):
I had a great job.
I was very active, I was a bigrunner.
About five years prior to thestroke, I'd run my first
marathon and planned on doingsome more, but the stroke got in
the way of that.
So after the stroke, I get homeand I certainly wasn't able to
walk.
I couldn't drive, I ended uplosing my job.
(04:04):
I wasn't able to walk, Icouldn't drive, I ended up
losing my job and, yeah, justall these things that we take
for granted were gone.
It was hard to move around myhouse, not being able to drive,
accessing food was difficult.
Not being able to work, Ididn't have any income, so it
was very challenging.
Laura (04:21):
Wow, and you're talking about accessing food.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
So it was very challenging.
Wow, and you're talking aboutaccessing food.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
Yeah, so you're saying likeother people had to go shopping
for you and get you food, bringyou food.
Talk to me more about that.
Matt (04:34):
Yeah, I did.
I asked for some help but,being a young guy, I was very
stubborn, I didn't want to askfor help, even after the stroke.
You know, I consider I was avery independent person I still
feel that way but it and it washard to ask for help and and uh,
you know, there were times thatI didn't and then times I
(04:58):
reached out and I did.
But I know, you know, lookingback, how important it was to
reach or would be to reach outto help, how willing folks are
to help.
Laura (05:08):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think it is interestingthat we take the onus on
ourselves to say, oh, I can'task for help, right, it's too
much.
People are going to think I'mweak, or people are going to
think I'm X and and then alsofeeling like we don't want to be
a burden to others, right,exactly.
Matt (05:26):
Yeah.
Laura (05:27):
Yeah, but so you lost your job and now you have a
transportation issue.
So what did you do?
Matt (05:36):
Well, ultimately, I ended up losing my house out of this.
Laura (05:39):
Oh my gosh.
Matt (05:41):
Yeah, I was very fortunate , laura.
My folks offered to let me movein with them.
They were down in Florida andthey opened their home up to me
and let me come down there andjust gave me the support I
needed to get back on track, tofind my way back to who I am, or
(06:05):
was.
Laura (06:08):
And when you went down there, how much time had passed
between the time you left thehospital and went home by
yourself to the time you wentdown to your folks.
Matt (06:20):
It was around 18 months.
Laura (06:23):
Wow.
Matt (06:24):
So you struggled for 18 months.
Laura (06:25):
Wow, so you struggled for 18 months.
You were trying desperately todo it on your own for 18 months.
Matt (06:30):
I was struggling and I, you know, I, I, I, I didn't.
I went down.
Let's see, I got very depressed.
I was very depressed and Ichose eating as a coping
mechanism and gained.
I gained a hundred pounds in 18months.
I got I was so depressed inthis really dark place and just
(06:51):
put on a lot of weight and didnot reach out for help, which I
should have.
But yeah, it got to be a darkand lonely place.
Laura (07:02):
Well, and, and it was great that your parents stepped
up, we never stop being kids,right, we are always their
babies and stuff, right.
But I am wondering, what kindof support did they lend
themselves, lend to you, rather?
As you were going through thisand how long were you there?
Matt (07:21):
Well, like I said, they just opened up their doors to me
and let me come in and that wasreally a start of what I needed
, you know, the foundations justhaving shelter, a safe place to
live, access to goodnutritional foods.
I had access to a swimming pool.
That was so helpful in myrecovery, you know.
(07:44):
So just being a support, justcheck it in with me, just to be
around other people, you know,and the fact that they were my
parents was made it even moreawesome.
But just that connection, youknow, isolation is such a lonely
place to be, so it was that wasreally helpful, just to be
around them it was that wasreally helpful, just to be
(08:06):
around them.
Laura (08:08):
Well and and you think about the folks that may have
experienced this during COVIDand the fact that they couldn't
even be closer to other peopleand such so yeah, so I can
really appreciate that journey,but I am.
I want to take a step back andsay so you, you're, you leave
the hospital for 18 months,you're struggling on your own
and I'm curious what did you tryto do on your own to access
(08:31):
resources, to access servicesand things like that?
What was that journey like?
Matt (08:38):
Well, it was really frustrating.
You know, I did have a littlebit of support from an agency
and they pointed me in adirection of things you know,
here's where this resource isand here's where this resource
is.
And it stopped at about thatpoint.
So, and I'll give you anexample, I reached out because I
(09:06):
lost my job and I was not ableto work.
I reached out for disability toapply for that Right Right.
I called them up and theresponse I get is well, are you
able to tear a movie ticket?
And I said, well, yeah, I cando that.
And they said well, you'llnever get disability, so I
stopped.
Laura (09:21):
Oh, my goodness.
Matt (09:23):
I stopped trying.
Oh wow, I didn't.
I didn't know how to Right andI didn't know what, what avenues
to go down.
I didn't know what I needed.
You know, I just I didn't knowwhere to start to get what I was
looking for.
Laura (09:39):
So well, and it's so funny, you say that because over
and over I hear I don't knowwhat to ask, because I don't
know what I need.
Matt (09:47):
Right.
Laura (09:48):
Right, yeah, and so yeah, wow, wow, and so you were
finding yourself in that sameposition, where you didn't.
Matt (09:56):
And I would just give up pretty quickly after you know,
if I couldn't find an answerpretty quickly, I would just
stop looking, and just.
You know, at that point I wasjust hope was gone, essentially.
Laura (10:10):
I had no more hope left gone.
Essentially, I had no more hopeleft.
Oh wow, I'm so sorry to hearthis, but because of this it
sounds like you've been inspiredto give people a different
experience.
Matt (10:26):
Absolutely.
You mentioned in the bio thereabout being inspired through
volunteering and I've beenvolunteering for nearly a year
now leading stroke supportgroups at a local rehab facility
and I see well, just in ourgroup shares what people are
(10:47):
needing.
You know I see myself in themone in how I was in that early,
early phase of my recovery andnot knowing anything, you know,
just being just had no idea whatwas going on.
A stroke is such a wild thingthat happens.
One day you're a normal personand the next day you're not able
to move, Wow, and so justtrying to figure that out, but
(11:11):
then you know.
So seeing the groups haveinspired me by seeing what each
person that comes into the groupmight need when they get home
some resources that would havebeen helpful for me to have had
(11:31):
you know, you started thiscompany.
Laura (11:34):
Stronger Wellness Together or Stronger Together?
Matt (11:37):
Wellness, stronger Together.
Wellness yeah.
Laura (11:38):
Thank you, thank you, my apologies.
And so what does this companydo then?
What does your company offer?
Matt (11:48):
we are.
We are trying, we want tobridge the gap between when
someone leaves primary care andmoves back into their lives at
home, because we're differentpeople after a stroke.
When we get home, our homedoesn't change, you know, the
world's still going on out there, but when we get home we're a
different person and so we wantto be able to help that, ease
(12:12):
that person that stroke survivorback into their home and make
that transition as easy aspossible and offer them as many
resources as they need to helpthem get to a point where they
can focus on their physicalrecovery and mental recovery.
A stroke is, you know, it hitsmentally almost more than it
(12:33):
does physically, you know.
So we want to be able toprovide resources to give them
an opportunity to be able torecover fully and get back to
their life as they once knew it,or whatever their life might be
now.
You know, I look back at my lifepre-stroke and I look back.
I look at my life now and I'm adifferent person and I'm
grateful for this person that Iam back.
(12:53):
I look at my life now and I'm adifferent person and I'm
grateful for this person that Iam and I've become, but not
everybody gets the opportunitiesthat I have.
Laura (13:00):
Yeah, yeah, well, and and so it sounds to me like you're
doing more than just providingresources, though that there's
this peer, you know, mentorship,if you will, or peer support.
Yeah, can you talk to me a bitmore about that, because I can
only imagine we know how mentalhealth has a stigma around it
(13:22):
and, just as you mentioned,asking for help is a real
challenge for a lot of people,especially if they're under 65
years right.
So you know how will thisprogram help them, how would
that particular element helpthem?
Matt (13:40):
So the peer support portion of it is it's really
geared towards a one-on-onecoaching type, working with a
person and helping them achieve.
It's really specialized orcatered to their needs.
I'm meeting them where they are.
Where are you at?
(14:00):
What do you need?
What are your needs right now?
Doing some goal setting, tryingto see where do you want to be,
where do you want to try andget to at this week or this
marker or this marker, andhelping people achieve those
goals and hold them accountable.
To do that.
We touched on the resourcesearlier.
But to be able to.
If someone doesn't have toworry about getting unemployment
(14:25):
because they lost their job ordisability, that's one less
thing they have to worry aboutso they can focus more on their
recovery.
And I can help them so they canfocus more on their recovery.
And I can help them, maintainthat focus and guide them along.
And being a peer support isusing lived experience, and
that's so important, I feel likein a number of worlds, but
especially in this strokesupport world.
(14:47):
I've been through that.
I know what that experience islike, so I can sit down with you
and I can understand a bitabout a lot of what you're going
through.
Laura (14:56):
Yeah, yeah, well, and it's such a common model for
people who are going throughaddiction issues right, and that
peer support.
They even actually certifythese people, because there's no
better person than a personwho's already been through this
experience themselves andstruggles with X, y or Z, or
(15:18):
understands the plight thatyou've gone through and the long
road that it takes to recoverfrom this.
Matt (15:27):
Right yeah.
Laura (15:28):
Yeah absolutely.
Well, and to that end I amwondering then this sounds like
a great, great company thatyou're developing here.
What you know, what do you?
What would you like toFundMecampaign to get this business
started?
Matt (15:57):
And we would certainly appreciate any type of support
that folks could offer.
In that and by supporting thiscompany, stronger Together
Wellness, you're helping peopleas they, like I mentioned,
mentioned earlier, as theytransition from out of primary
care back into their lives athomes, and you're you're
(16:18):
supporting their caregivers, whohave also been introduced into
a whole new world of a lifeafter stroke.
Their, their lives are alteredat that point and we're you know
we're we'll'll be leadinggroups or support groups as well
.
So you know that would be, thatwould be helpful, if any, if
you folks could make a donation.
Laura (16:40):
So you're talking about?
You think that people are goingto support the program.
My apologies that, in additionto supporting the person who has
the stroke themselves, you'realso supporting the caregivers.
Matt (16:57):
That's right yeah.
Oh that's fantastic.
Yeah, absolutely.
The caregivers play a huge role.
Oh, yeah, you know, I, I, uh, Ididn't have a caregiver
immediately, you know, afterleaving the hospital.
But a lot of folks do have acaregiver and, depending on what
sort of the effects of thestroke when the person gets home
(17:21):
, you know, it may be that thecaregiver has to all of a sudden
leave their job to care for thestroke survivor.
Laura (17:27):
Exactly.
Matt (17:28):
Yeah, they're going to need resources and support
groups and things like that, soit's very challenging.
Laura (17:36):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, we don't think of young people
having strokes.
We think of people who are over65 might have strokes, right,
and so what you're bringing upis such a huge issue.
You know what?
What percentage of people underthe age of 65 have strokes, do
(17:58):
you know?
Matt (17:58):
that, or is it?
I don't know that.
I know that there it's a lothigher than you would think it
is.
I want to say it's about 30%.
I think it's even more thanthat, is it?
Well, it might be, and I shouldknow that, but I know that it
is.
Laura (18:13):
Didn't mean to put you on the spot there, dude, sorry.
Matt (18:17):
I'm not good with numbers.
No, I'm just kidding.
Laura (18:22):
Mr Engineer.
Matt (18:26):
It's quite a bit higher than what you would expect, and
strokes do not discriminate atall.
They don't care about age, race, color or any of that.
It affects all of us and youknow.
I'm sure you'd be surprised toknow how many people that you're
close to actually that have astroke survivor in their family,
(18:48):
a stroke survivor in theirfamily.
I find that quite often thatpeople I'm talking to about this
company are like, wow, myfather-in-law could have used a
service like this, or so-and-so.
So there are quite a largenumber of folks out there that
have had experience with strokes.
I'm 65.
Laura (19:08):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
And so when we think about aperson who's going through a
stroke, I know my in myassumptions, when you know, when
I was thinking about this, thaton the left side, like you say
that their arms can't move andand their left side of their
face is drawn down, and you knowtheir lack of mobility is
(19:33):
permanent, and I'm hearing fromyou that that's not the case,
that it's not permanent, it'snot always the case.
Matt (19:40):
No, in some cases it can be, yeah, but in my case I
regained probably I'm probablyabout 98% back.
Wow, you know I'm a very activeperson.
Again, it took me a while toget here.
It took a lot of work to get towhere I am right now A lot of
(20:03):
hours exercising, eating well.
But you know there is hope.
You know any progress isprogress and it may be that, you
know, one day you're only ableto take 10 steps and two weeks
later you can take 20.
But as long as we're makingsome progress, it's encouraging.
Laura (20:21):
Oh, yeah, yeah, and I think that that is part of it.
I can only imagine that youcompared yourself when you were
younger and you needed to.
You know you were able to do X,y and Z.
Why can't you now?
Right, and?
And so that's not what youcompare it to.
You compare it from yesterdayto today.
Matt (20:40):
Yesterday and today, and you know, that's where our
support groups come in.
They're really valuable becausethe survivors can look at their
peers in these support groupsand get encouragement there, and
these are people they canrelate to.
And then we celebrate the smallvictories.
You know whether it's just oneday, maybe you're not able to
(21:02):
raise your hand and the next dayyou can raise it for the next
week.
Just small things like that thatanybody that never suffered a
stroke would not wouldn't thinkmuch about it.
But as being a peer supportbusiness, we can.
We can appreciate those thingshaving through it.
Laura (21:21):
Yeah.
What do you think is thebiggest lesson you learned along
your journey here?
Matt (21:35):
your journey here.
Oh gosh, a number of themDefinitely more resilient, more
patient more empathetic.
Laura (21:39):
Okay, well, that's really fantastic.
If people wanted to get to knowmore about you or go to the
GoFundMe page, how can theycontact you?
Matt (21:48):
They can go to our website , which is
strongertogetherwellnesscom.
Laura (21:54):
Okay, excellent, and is the GoFundMe page Stronger
Wellness Together, or is itsomething else?
It?
Matt (22:02):
is it's under the heading Help.
Turn Stroke Survivors IntoThrivers.
Laura (22:09):
Oh, I love it, love it.
That's fantastic.
Well, I really can't thank youenough for sharing your story,
matt, and giving us all a littleinspiration that we could all
use.
So thank you very much.
Matt (22:22):
Thank you, laura, it was a pleasure.
It was great to be here.
Laura (22:24):
Yeah, and I really want to thank the audience for
listening and please go tobizradious and click on shows.
Thanks so much for listeningand have a great rest of your
day.
Good morning.
I'm your host, LauraWagner-Kanesh, owner of Mosaic
Business Consulting, and you'relistening to the Mosaic Life
with Laura W.
A mosaic is a bunch of piecesthat, when put together, make up
the whole in a really beautifulway, and this show plans to
discuss the various pieces of abusiness throughout different
industries and how these pieces,when put together, can help
(00:31):
develop a better, more efficientand effective running of your
business.
To reach me, contact bizradious.
Today, my guest is a unique oneMatt McCoy.
Matt holds a BS inenvironmental studies from UNCA.
He is a certified peer supportspecialist in North Carolina and
he is the inspiring founder andcreative director of Stronger
(00:56):
Together Wellness For 14 years.
Here's his big secret Matt hasbeen a resilient stroke survivor
whose firsthand experienceignites his commitment to
advocacy and support.
He established, excuse me,Stronger Together Wellness after
recognizing the profound impactof support groups during his
(01:18):
volunteer work, cleverly mergingprofessional guidance with
personal insights, Throughinnovative programs and a
compassionate approach, Mattempowers individuals on their
wellness journey, promoting theidea that together we can
overcome life's greatestchallenges.
Wow, I just love thatcombination, Matt.
(01:38):
Welcome to the show.
It is great to have you here.
Matt (01:41):
Thank you, Laura.
It's great to be here today.
Laura (01:43):
And I got to start out with okay, because you're a
young guy.
When did this stroke happen?
How old were you?
Please tell us about thisjourney of yours.
Matt (01:57):
Yeah, I was 35 years old when it happened.
Yeah, early January of 2010,.
My whole world changed.
It was a devastating event andI couldn't believe that it was a
stroke.
Even the doctors weren'tcertain in the very first visit.
(02:17):
And then after about three days, going back to have it checked
out, get checked out.
I wasn't getting any better.
They said, well, you've had astroke.
And yeah, it was devastating.
Laura (02:31):
Yeah, and so what was the impact that this had on you?
Matt (02:35):
So I was at Mission Hospital for a week and then
transferred over to CarePartners here in Asheville for
about three weeks and for me,the effects that I had mainly
suffered on the left side of mybody.
The stroke happened up on theright side of my brain, so left
side had partial paralysis,dealing with a lot of balance
(02:57):
issues and some blurred vision.
And so I, you know, I get out ofcare partners and I go home,
and the impact is is even morenoticeable at that point because
I don't have all these carecaregivers around me.
It's basically I'm alone there,and so without resources,
without without much at all, but, but just some confusion and
(03:23):
what to do now.
Laura (03:24):
Yeah, and, and I can only I can't even imagine, I have to
admit.
But you know, what did this dofor you in terms?
I can only assume you wereworking and you were.
You had a life, you know, priorto that.
I'm just wondering whathappened.
Matt (03:43):
I had a great job.
I was very active, I was a bigrunner.
About five years prior to thestroke, I'd run my first
marathon and planned on doingsome more, but the stroke got in
the way of that.
So after the stroke, I get homeand I certainly wasn't able to
walk.
I couldn't drive, I ended uplosing my job.
(04:04):
I wasn't able to walk, Icouldn't drive, I ended up
losing my job and, yeah, justall these things that we take
for granted were gone.
It was hard to move around myhouse, not being able to drive,
accessing food was difficult.
Not being able to work, Ididn't have any income, so it
was very challenging.
Laura (04:21):
Wow, and you're talking about accessing food.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
So it was very challenging.
Wow, and you're talking aboutaccessing food.
I hadn't even thought aboutthat.
Yeah, so you're saying likeother people had to go shopping
for you and get you food, bringyou food.
Talk to me more about that.
Matt (04:34):
Yeah, I did.
I asked for some help but,being a young guy, I was very
stubborn, I didn't want to askfor help, even after the stroke.
You know, I consider I was avery independent person I still
feel that way but it and it washard to ask for help and and uh,
you know, there were times thatI didn't and then times I
(04:58):
reached out and I did.
But I know, you know, lookingback, how important it was to
reach or would be to reach outto help, how willing folks are
to help.
Laura (05:08):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think it is interestingthat we take the onus on
ourselves to say, oh, I can'task for help, right, it's too
much.
People are going to think I'mweak, or people are going to
think I'm X and and then alsofeeling like we don't want to be
a burden to others, right,exactly.
Matt (05:26):
Yeah.
Laura (05:27):
Yeah, but so you lost your job and now you have a
transportation issue.
So what did you do?
Matt (05:36):
Well, ultimately, I ended up losing my house out of this.
Laura (05:39):
Oh my gosh.
Matt (05:41):
Yeah, I was very fortunate , laura.
My folks offered to let me movein with them.
They were down in Florida andthey opened their home up to me
and let me come down there andjust gave me the support I
needed to get back on track, tofind my way back to who I am, or
(06:05):
was.
Laura (06:08):
And when you went down there, how much time had passed
between the time you left thehospital and went home by
yourself to the time you wentdown to your folks.
Matt (06:20):
It was around 18 months.
Laura (06:23):
Wow.
Matt (06:24):
So you struggled for 18 months.
Laura (06:25):
Wow, so you struggled for 18 months.
You were trying desperately todo it on your own for 18 months.
Matt (06:30):
I was struggling and I, you know, I, I, I, I didn't.
I went down.
Let's see, I got very depressed.
I was very depressed and Ichose eating as a coping
mechanism and gained.
I gained a hundred pounds in 18months.
I got I was so depressed inthis really dark place and just
(06:51):
put on a lot of weight and didnot reach out for help, which I
should have.
But yeah, it got to be a darkand lonely place.
Laura (07:02):
Well, and, and it was great that your parents stepped
up, we never stop being kids,right, we are always their
babies and stuff, right.
But I am wondering, what kindof support did they lend
themselves, lend to you, rather?
As you were going through thisand how long were you there?
Matt (07:21):
Well, like I said, they just opened up their doors to me
and let me come in and that wasreally a start of what I needed
, you know, the foundations justhaving shelter, a safe place to
live, access to goodnutritional foods.
I had access to a swimming pool.
That was so helpful in myrecovery, you know.
(07:44):
So just being a support, justcheck it in with me, just to be
around other people, you know,and the fact that they were my
parents was made it even moreawesome.
But just that connection, youknow, isolation is such a lonely
place to be, so it was that wasreally helpful, just to be
around them it was that wasreally helpful, just to be
(08:06):
around them.
Laura (08:08):
Well and and you think about the folks that may have
experienced this during COVIDand the fact that they couldn't
even be closer to other peopleand such so yeah, so I can
really appreciate that journey,but I am.
I want to take a step back andsay so you, you're, you leave
the hospital for 18 months,you're struggling on your own
and I'm curious what did you tryto do on your own to access
(08:31):
resources, to access servicesand things like that?
What was that journey like?
Matt (08:38):
Well, it was really frustrating.
You know, I did have a littlebit of support from an agency
and they pointed me in adirection of things you know,
here's where this resource isand here's where this resource
is.
And it stopped at about thatpoint.
So, and I'll give you anexample, I reached out because I
(09:06):
lost my job and I was not ableto work.
I reached out for disability toapply for that Right Right.
I called them up and theresponse I get is well, are you
able to tear a movie ticket?
And I said, well, yeah, I cando that.
And they said well, you'llnever get disability, so I
stopped.
Laura (09:21):
Oh, my goodness.
Matt (09:23):
I stopped trying.
Oh wow, I didn't.
I didn't know how to Right andI didn't know what, what avenues
to go down.
I didn't know what I needed.
You know, I just I didn't knowwhere to start to get what I was
looking for.
Laura (09:39):
So well, and it's so funny, you say that because over
and over I hear I don't knowwhat to ask, because I don't
know what I need.
Matt (09:47):
Right.
Laura (09:48):
Right, yeah, and so yeah, wow, wow, and so you were
finding yourself in that sameposition, where you didn't.
Matt (09:56):
And I would just give up pretty quickly after you know,
if I couldn't find an answerpretty quickly, I would just
stop looking, and just.
You know, at that point I wasjust hope was gone, essentially.
Laura (10:10):
I had no more hope left gone.
Essentially, I had no more hopeleft.
Oh wow, I'm so sorry to hearthis, but because of this it
sounds like you've been inspiredto give people a different
experience.
Matt (10:26):
Absolutely.
You mentioned in the bio thereabout being inspired through
volunteering and I've beenvolunteering for nearly a year
now leading stroke supportgroups at a local rehab facility
and I see well, just in ourgroup shares what people are
(10:47):
needing.
You know I see myself in themone in how I was in that early,
early phase of my recovery andnot knowing anything, you know,
just being just had no idea whatwas going on.
A stroke is such a wild thingthat happens.
One day you're a normal personand the next day you're not able
to move, Wow, and so justtrying to figure that out, but
(11:11):
then you know.
So seeing the groups haveinspired me by seeing what each
person that comes into the groupmight need when they get home
some resources that would havebeen helpful for me to have had
(11:31):
you know, you started thiscompany.
Laura (11:34):
Stronger Wellness Together or Stronger Together?
Matt (11:37):
Wellness, stronger Together.
Wellness yeah.
Laura (11:38):
Thank you, thank you, my apologies.
And so what does this companydo then?
What does your company offer?
Matt (11:48):
we are.
We are trying, we want tobridge the gap between when
someone leaves primary care andmoves back into their lives at
home, because we're differentpeople after a stroke.
When we get home, our homedoesn't change, you know, the
world's still going on out there, but when we get home we're a
different person and so we wantto be able to help that, ease
(12:12):
that person that stroke survivorback into their home and make
that transition as easy aspossible and offer them as many
resources as they need to helpthem get to a point where they
can focus on their physicalrecovery and mental recovery.
A stroke is, you know, it hitsmentally almost more than it
(12:33):
does physically, you know.
So we want to be able toprovide resources to give them
an opportunity to be able torecover fully and get back to
their life as they once knew it,or whatever their life might be
now.
You know, I look back at my lifepre-stroke and I look back.
I look at my life now and I'm adifferent person and I'm
grateful for this person that Iam back.
(12:53):
I look at my life now and I'm adifferent person and I'm
grateful for this person that Iam and I've become, but not
everybody gets the opportunitiesthat I have.
Laura (13:00):
Yeah, yeah, well, and and so it sounds to me like you're
doing more than just providingresources, though that there's
this peer, you know, mentorship,if you will, or peer support.
Yeah, can you talk to me a bitmore about that, because I can
only imagine we know how mentalhealth has a stigma around it
(13:22):
and, just as you mentioned,asking for help is a real
challenge for a lot of people,especially if they're under 65
years right.
So you know how will thisprogram help them, how would
that particular element helpthem?
Matt (13:40):
So the peer support portion of it is it's really
geared towards a one-on-onecoaching type, working with a
person and helping them achieve.
It's really specialized orcatered to their needs.
I'm meeting them where they are.
Where are you at?
(14:00):
What do you need?
What are your needs right now?
Doing some goal setting, tryingto see where do you want to be,
where do you want to try andget to at this week or this
marker or this marker, andhelping people achieve those
goals and hold them accountable.
To do that.
We touched on the resourcesearlier.
But to be able to.
If someone doesn't have toworry about getting unemployment
(14:25):
because they lost their job ordisability, that's one less
thing they have to worry aboutso they can focus more on their
recovery.
And I can help them so they canfocus more on their recovery.
And I can help them, maintainthat focus and guide them along.
And being a peer support isusing lived experience, and
that's so important, I feel likein a number of worlds, but
especially in this strokesupport world.
(14:47):
I've been through that.
I know what that experience islike, so I can sit down with you
and I can understand a bitabout a lot of what you're going
through.
Laura (14:56):
Yeah, yeah, well, and it's such a common model for
people who are going throughaddiction issues right, and that
peer support.
They even actually certifythese people, because there's no
better person than a personwho's already been through this
experience themselves andstruggles with X, y or Z, or
(15:18):
understands the plight thatyou've gone through and the long
road that it takes to recoverfrom this.
Matt (15:27):
Right yeah.
Laura (15:28):
Yeah absolutely.
Well, and to that end I amwondering then this sounds like
a great, great company thatyou're developing here.
What you know, what do you?
What would you like toFundMecampaign to get this business
started?
Matt (15:57):
And we would certainly appreciate any type of support
that folks could offer.
In that and by supporting thiscompany, stronger Together
Wellness, you're helping peopleas they, like I mentioned,
mentioned earlier, as theytransition from out of primary
care back into their lives athomes, and you're you're
(16:18):
supporting their caregivers, whohave also been introduced into
a whole new world of a lifeafter stroke.
Their, their lives are alteredat that point and we're you know
we're we'll'll be leadinggroups or support groups as well
.
So you know that would be, thatwould be helpful, if any, if
you folks could make a donation.
Laura (16:40):
So you're talking about?
You think that people are goingto support the program.
My apologies that, in additionto supporting the person who has
the stroke themselves, you'realso supporting the caregivers.
Matt (16:57):
That's right yeah.
Oh that's fantastic.
Yeah, absolutely.
The caregivers play a huge role.
Oh, yeah, you know, I, I, uh, Ididn't have a caregiver
immediately, you know, afterleaving the hospital.
But a lot of folks do have acaregiver and, depending on what
sort of the effects of thestroke when the person gets home
(17:21):
, you know, it may be that thecaregiver has to all of a sudden
leave their job to care for thestroke survivor.
Laura (17:27):
Exactly.
Matt (17:28):
Yeah, they're going to need resources and support
groups and things like that, soit's very challenging.
Laura (17:36):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, we don't think of young people
having strokes.
We think of people who are over65 might have strokes, right,
and so what you're bringing upis such a huge issue.
You know what?
What percentage of people underthe age of 65 have strokes, do
(17:58):
you know?
Matt (17:58):
that, or is it?
I don't know that.
I know that there it's a lothigher than you would think it
is.
I want to say it's about 30%.
I think it's even more thanthat, is it?
Well, it might be, and I shouldknow that, but I know that it
is.
Laura (18:13):
Didn't mean to put you on the spot there, dude, sorry.
Matt (18:17):
I'm not good with numbers.
No, I'm just kidding.
Laura (18:22):
Mr Engineer.
Matt (18:26):
It's quite a bit higher than what you would expect, and
strokes do not discriminate atall.
They don't care about age, race, color or any of that.
It affects all of us and youknow.
I'm sure you'd be surprised toknow how many people that you're
close to actually that have astroke survivor in their family,
(18:48):
a stroke survivor in theirfamily.
I find that quite often thatpeople I'm talking to about this
company are like, wow, myfather-in-law could have used a
service like this, or so-and-so.
So there are quite a largenumber of folks out there that
have had experience with strokes.
I'm 65.
Laura (19:08):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
And so when we think about aperson who's going through a
stroke, I know my in myassumptions, when you know, when
I was thinking about this, thaton the left side, like you say
that their arms can't move andand their left side of their
face is drawn down, and you knowtheir lack of mobility is
(19:33):
permanent, and I'm hearing fromyou that that's not the case,
that it's not permanent, it'snot always the case.
Matt (19:40):
No, in some cases it can be, yeah, but in my case I
regained probably I'm probablyabout 98% back.
Wow, you know I'm a very activeperson.
Again, it took me a while toget here.
It took a lot of work to get towhere I am right now A lot of
(20:03):
hours exercising, eating well.
But you know there is hope.
You know any progress isprogress and it may be that, you
know, one day you're only ableto take 10 steps and two weeks
later you can take 20.
But as long as we're makingsome progress, it's encouraging.
Laura (20:21):
Oh, yeah, yeah, and I think that that is part of it.
I can only imagine that youcompared yourself when you were
younger and you needed to.
You know you were able to do X,y and Z.
Why can't you now?
Right, and?
And so that's not what youcompare it to.
You compare it from yesterdayto today.
Matt (20:40):
Yesterday and today, and you know, that's where our
support groups come in.
They're really valuable becausethe survivors can look at their
peers in these support groupsand get encouragement there, and
these are people they canrelate to.
And then we celebrate the smallvictories.
You know whether it's just oneday, maybe you're not able to
(21:02):
raise your hand and the next dayyou can raise it for the next
week.
Just small things like that thatanybody that never suffered a
stroke would not wouldn't thinkmuch about it.
But as being a peer supportbusiness, we can.
We can appreciate those thingshaving through it.
Laura (21:21):
Yeah.
What do you think is thebiggest lesson you learned along
your journey here?
Matt (21:35):
your journey here.
Oh gosh, a number of themDefinitely more resilient, more
patient more empathetic.
Laura (21:39):
Okay, well, that's really fantastic.
If people wanted to get to knowmore about you or go to the
GoFundMe page, how can theycontact you?
Matt (21:48):
They can go to our website , which is
strongertogetherwellnesscom.
Laura (21:54):
Okay, excellent, and is the GoFundMe page Stronger
Wellness Together, or is itsomething else?
It?
Matt (22:02):
is it's under the heading Help.
Turn Stroke Survivors IntoThrivers.
Laura (22:09):
Oh, I love it, love it.
That's fantastic.
Well, I really can't thank youenough for sharing your story,
matt, and giving us all a littleinspiration that we could all
use.
So thank you very much.
Matt (22:22):
Thank you, laura, it was a pleasure.
It was great to be here.
Laura (22:24):
Yeah, and I really want to thank the audience for
listening and please go tobizradious and click on shows.
Thanks so much for listeningand have a great rest of your
day.
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