Hi, I'm Hether.

On March 1, 2021, my life changed in an instant. I suffered a massive ischemic stroke with hemorrhagic conversion — so severe that I required a craniectomy, a surgery to remove part of my skull, for two and a half months just to survive. When I woke up, I was completely paralyzed on my dominant left side.

I want you to understand something: I have always been the biggest health nut. The kind of person who did everything "right." ( I cut out drinking sodas in the 90's when I was in my 20's. I've never even had a rash or the flu! But it turns out I was living with an undiagnosed heart defect that we are all born with (a PFO) that, combined with birth control, triggered the stroke that would change everything. It could have happened to anyone.

Since then, I've fought for every inch of progress. And I mean fought. What doctors called a miraculous recovery didn't come easy — it came from relentless determination, tears, setbacks, and getting back up again and again. But even with everything I've regained, my dominant left arm and hand still don't work the way they used to, and my mobility is still limited. Every single day, I face challenges that most people never have to think twice about.

That's why I'm reaching out to you.

There's a groundbreaking 3-week intensive program in Ohio called Neuro Animation, using cutting-edge technology and therapy specifically designed to reignite neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to rewire and heal itself. It has helped stroke and brain injury survivors regain function that doctors once told them was gone for good. I believe with everything in me that this program could give me my hand back.

I want to clap again. I want to wash my own hair and get dressed without help. I want to hold my future grandchildren someday — with both hands wrapped around them, not just one.

I am not giving up. I will keep fighting to reclaim what I lost, one small victory at a time. But I can't get to Ohio, and I can't access this life-changing therapy, without help.

If you're able to donate anything at all — or even just share my story — you would be giving me something priceless: a real shot at getting my hand, and a piece of my life, back.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me and supporting this next step in my recovery journey.

With gratitude and hope,

Hether