In an ischemic stroke, a blockage in a blood vessel stops essential oxygen and nutrients from reaching the brain.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- She was getting out of the car one autumn day in 2009, about to have lunch with a colleague, when Este Osofsky-McGonigle felt something pop in her neck.
"It was something so strong I couldn't talk for a couple of minutes," recalls the New York school psychologist. But it passed, and she regained her speech.
The rest of the day and night elapsed normally, but at 9:30 the next morning, as Osofsky-McGonigle finished up a meeting at work, her right arm went numb.
She went into her office and tried to write a letter, "Dear So-and-So." But when she picked up the pen and tried to write the letter "D," the pen just slid across the paper.
Este Osofsky-McGonigle and her son, Zachary, after her stroke.
Osofsky-McGonigle tried again, but the same thing happened. "The 'D' went crazy," she said.
Fortunately, Osofsky-McGonigle could still run -- and she did, running the whole length of the school building, seeking a friend who sent her to the school nurse.
The nurse checked for a pulse in Osofsky-McGonigle's right arm, but found none. By the time she reached the hospital 15 minutes later, she could not lift her right arm or leg, speak or understand words.
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My stroke recovery story