Stroke, it can happen to anyone, anytime at any age. I am living proof.

I am twenty three years old and a stroke survivor. I had no risk factors, no warning signs. On November 26, 2005, my life changed in the blink of an eye. I want to share my story to help others.

I was a freshman at Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts. I had a pretty typical life. I was having a great time in college, I was playing hockey on a Junior Hockey team.

Sports had always been an important part of my life. I learned to skate soon after I learned to walk and had played hockey since I was four.

The weekend before Thanksgiving I had a hockey game. As hockey games go, it was a rough one. I had always been a player who would do anything for the team. I saw an opponent take a shot on the net and I dove on the ice to block the puck. I didn't realize how fast I had skated in, how close I was to the boards. I remember slamming head first into the boards.

My neck hurt for a couple of days, but compared to what could have happened, I thought I was pretty lucky. The day after Thanksgiving I was back on the ice. This game was pretty typical, nothing out of the ordinary happened. So, when I came home that night and told my parents that my legs were weak and I had a headache, they weren't too concerned. Later that night I started to vomit, the right side of my face was just a little numb. We all thought flu. No one put together that hit from six days earlier with the flu like symptoms. I went to bed before the symptoms escalated. When my mother went to check on me the next morning I was unresponsive.

I was rushed to the nearest emergency room. I was initially treated for encephalitis.

A radiologist's report had diagnosed stroke, but the on call neurologist refused to believe him, telling my parents that "19 year olds don't have strokes" and with continued treatment I would be "sitting up and talking in a few days".

Thirty six hours later, tests confirmed I had a stroke. When I hit the boards, I tore an artery in the back of my neck which bled slowly. It took six days before a clot formed. I had suffered a brain stem stroke, the most devastating type of stroke.

I was "locked in", fully cognizant, but unable to move, unable to communicate, on a respirator. For the first two weeks, they did not know if I would live.

I beat the odds and survived. On December 16, 2005 I was transferred to Gaylord Hospital. When I arrived at Gaylord I couldn't see. My right eye was frozen in its' socket, I had to turn my head to move my eye. I couldn't speak, couldn't swallow, I couldn't open my mouth, my jaw was clenched shut.

The clot went up both sides of the brain stem, so I was totally paralyzed. My right arm was bent at the elbow, my hand closed in a tight fist under my chin. You couldn't pry my arm away from my body, couldn't open my fist.

No one knew what my future held. It was now up to me and the incredible staff of Gaylord hospital.

After eight weeks at Gaylord Hospital, I met a goal I made to myself the day I was wheeled in through those front doors; I walked out with the help of a walker.

My vision had returned and I was eating again. My right side was still affected, my speech was not clear. I refused to settle for anything less than a full recovery. Being an athlete, I knew I had the will and the discipline to continue to fight to get better. I was going to reclaim my life.

My family has spent the last four years focused on my recovery and rehabilitation.

I have worked hard and have come so far. My right arm is now functional, my speech is clear again. I am taking college courses, I have a part time job and I'm driving again in a modified car.

My most incredible accomplishment is that I am ice skating again. My parents never knew if I would walk again, never dreamed I would skate again. I always knew I would, it was just going to take time. I am so proud that I continue to accomplish my goals. I share my story in the hope that it will touch or help others.

On May 22, our family will be participating in our fifth American Heart/Stroke Walk. We walk to raise stroke awareness and to celebrate my survival and continued recovery. We walk with the Gaylord hospital staff, our family and our friends.

Help us to support the American Heart/Stroke Association. It is a cause that is very important to us. Stroke can happen to anyone, anytime at any age, please help me to reach another goal, to educate others about stroke.

Know the warning signs. If only we had heard a story like mine, it might have changed my life. Please join your local Start! Heart Walk and help us to help others.

Donate today to help people like Garrett, or get involved with one of our many causes, like Go Red For Women, Start! Heart Walk or Power To End Stroke.