Join Kristin's Comeback: Adaptive Athlete Support

My name is Kristin, and I was born in 1989. I'm a major Swiftie and a 4X marathoner. Now, I'm entering my Comeback Era.

You'd never guess by looking at me how far I've come.

On April 23, 2022, I went out for my usual Saturday 11-mile training run. It was a beautiful spring day, the tulips were in bloom, and I totally crushed it! But a few hours later, I suffered a sudden ischemic stroke on the right side of my body. My life was forever changed.

"You don't look like you had a stroke," the triage nurse at the hospital told me.

At 32, leading a healthy lifestyle, I couldn’t believe it either. Being a “medical mystery” is never fun, particularly when no one knows or can agree on the cause, cure, or course of action. Out of an abundance of caution, my medical team agreed running was taken off the table.

Last summer, about 14 months post-stroke, I started to feel in balance again. I begged and pleaded, "Can I please run again? I need to run for my brain." My doctors gave me permission to exercise and I was off. I was running a 5K every other day. I felt amazing.

In early October 2023, I was back in the saddle working full time and doing my research. I traveled to Oslo, Norway to lead a research meeting but something was wrong. During my trip, I developed the worst headache of my life. I came home and immediately went to the doctor. Two weeks and a series of ER, neurologists and outpatient pain clinic later, I was transferred by ambulance and hospitalized in the Brigham Neuro ICU. The diagnosis: a spontaneous dissection of my left vertebral artery. Yes, my friends, that's a literal splitting headache.

My life was turned upside down yet again, this time more sinister than ever. I endured excruciating, intractable pain in my head and acquired severe numbness in my lower limb. I wanted to run but nobody could agree if it was safe. I spent all winter with serious physical limitations as my artery healed. The list of restrictions were lengthy (no lifting, no screaming, no crying, no wine, no chocolate -- WHAT!). My foot numbness got worse. It scared me. How could I drive if I couldn't feel my trigger foot? My quality of life and mental health plummeted. I struggled to exist. I finally caved and took a full medical leave from work to focus on my health.

This spring, after months of struggling, I finally saw a glimmer of hope. The Tufts SAYA (Stroke And Young Adults) group connected me with the Fit to Function Recovery Family . FtF are a gym for everybody and every body. A community that doesn't settle for "good enough." Suddenly, I was surrounded by adaptive athletes like me. I found a safe way to exercise again. I was so fortunate to meet Jenna Muri-Rosenthal and gain access to FtF.

In parallel, I also met Dr. Lester Leung (founder of Tufts SAYA and one of the world's leading experts in young stroke). Lester heard me talk about being depressed about not running and empathized. He could tell it was my passion. As the fates allowed, this summer Lester launched a concierge medicine practice for advancing young stroke recovery called Headway Neurology. After bouncing around from specialist to specialist and hitting dead ends, it was a huge relief to have someone on my care team who understands the unique struggles of young stroke patients.

I finally have the support I need to make a comeback.

Enter why we're here... I'm launching a community fundraiser to support neuro-adaptive rehabilitation services. Accessing adaptive fitness and vascular expertise should be available to everyone.

Every dollar raised in this scholarship will be used to support gym sessions at FtF and/or access to specialized concierge vascular neurology consults at Headway Neurology. (Note: You may earmark if you have a preference which group your donation is allocated to.)

In addition, I will be hosting and running a K Comeback 5K on Saturday, September 14th at Jamaica Pond. (Follow @fittofunction on Instagram!)

This journey is the culmination of 2+ years of struggle to get back on my feet. It's my final victory lap before I officially move to the UK to finish my DPhil (or as Americans call it, a PhD) at the University of Oxford (yes, THAT Oxford... what, like it's hard?). I've spent so long living in fear of my body. I'm so happy to be in a place that I can live my life again.

Please join me in supporting adaptive athletes in their recovery!

We all deserve to be #BetterThanGoodEnough.

MATCHING PLEDGE: An anonymous donor will be matching 1:1 up to $3,500 through September 6th.