Friend of VIPCare, Jeff Erickson
Jeff Erickson is a single father and marketing executive who suffered a mid-cerebral ischemic stroke on January 27, 2019, while alone with his then six-year-old son. An unlikely candidate for a life-threatening stroke considering his health profile and age, at just 48 navigating the shock and uncertainty caused by a stroke had deep implications.
Lucky beyond belief at the outcomes after the stroke he confronted the health risk head-on as best he could, studying causes of stroke in people with no previous indications or apparent risk factors. He scheduled extra follow-up appointments with doctors and did every possible test that was suggested no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable. Not long after the stroke Jeff started a YouTube channel to share what he was learning and champion the message that stroke is not solely a condition suffered by the elderly. It can strike any person at any age so be aware of the signs.
Although cathartic the Youtube channel lost a little of its appeal to Jeff when the diagnosis of the stroke was determined to be a Cryptogenic Stroke or “Of unknown origin”. A diagnosis of “No Diagnosis” it turns out can be quite terrifying for an event that happens inside one’s body especially if there is no guarantee it won’t happen again. For the record, your doctor does not want you to know they don’t have all the answers and in this case, roughly 30% of stokes in the U.S. go undiagnosed annually.
For Jeff the implications of not knowing the cause of the stroke and the unpleasant fact that his son witnessed him falling several times and may have found him unconscious during his stroke began to seed symptoms of PTSD. Well on the road to recovery Jeff has explored many therapies to be discussed in his channel Holy smoke, I had a stroke.
Jeff Erickson, YouTube Creator, Holy Smoke, I Had A Stroke