Swayzine McLean is a longtime Raleigh resident in her 60s whose engaging presence and infectious laughter brighten everyone she meets.

Commitment to Good Health After Heart Attack and Onset of Chronic Conditions

Yet, her journey has not been without setbacks. Swayzine is a heart attack survivor who received an implantable defibrillator. She also lives with chronic health conditions — so she is committed to doing her part to stay on the path of health and wellness.

This includes getting in her daily steps and staying on top of her prescription medications. Together, they are a gateway to her greatest joy: bringing friends around the table for good meals and lots of laughs.

A Puzzling Morning

Early one November morning in 2021, she woke up to find that try as she might, she couldn’t take her medications.

“I woke up that morning, and I couldn’t swallow. My medications fell out of my mouth to the floor.”

Surprised, Swayzine headed to the bathroom to see what was amiss.

“It was then I realized my left hand and arm were numb. I couldn’t feel them. And, my hand was weightless as though I couldn’t control it. I turned on the water. I couldn’t distinguish the hot from the cold water.”

With growing alarm, she headed to the kitchen to get more medications and try again.

“I realized I couldn’t feel the pills in my hand. When I took them again, I still couldn’t swallow. I knew then something was very wrong, so I called my best friend. I couldn’t speak clearly and barely screeched out “Could you come get me?”

Stroke and a Shocking Diagnosis

Swayzine’s friend immediately came to her aid and rushed her to the WakeMed Cary Hospital Emergency Department where she was told she’d had a stroke. They took her to imaging for an MRI. To her surprise, MRI results showed that Swayzine had suffered a prior stroke.

“I didn’t know it because I didn’t know the signs of a stroke, but previously, I’d woken early one morning and realized that I had no sensation or mobility in the left hand. I thought to myself ‘What’s wrong with my hand?’ I dismissed it and went on with my daily activities. Eventually, my hand went back to normal. After the second stroke, they explained the symptoms to me, so I knew for sure I’d had a prior one.”

Swayzine remained in the hospital for four days from November 20 to November 24. In all, the stroke caused swallowing issues, weakness, numbness and lost mobility in her left leg, left arm and left hand.

While Swayzine was in the hospital, the rehab team got to work right away helping her regain her abilities.

“When the physical therapist came by the first day I was in the hospital, he gave me exercises to do, such as write the ABCs with my feet.”

They also provided her with exercises for swallowing and speech.

Swayzine says, “Thankfully, swallowing and speech returned while I was in the hospital.”

WakeMed Rehabilitation

Her WakeMed team decided she needed in-home rehabilitation to regain strength and mobility in her impaired arm, hand and leg.

“The physical therapist was surprised at how well I could manuever around my home even with my severe limitations, so they decided that in order to fully recover I would need to go to a facility.”

To better assess and treat her condition, they transitioned her therapy to outpatient rehab located at the WakeMed Raleigh Campus Rehabilitation Hospital.

Since then, with the aid of physical, speech and occupational therapy, her recovery has been amazing.

Physical Therapy

“I think I’ve improved significantly, especially with physical therapy. It helped me tremendously considering that my left leg was numb initially. I was mobile after my stroke, but I was dragging the left leg. If I had bedroom shoes on, I would lose the left shoe and didn’t realize it had fallen off until I got to a surface that indicated the right was a different height on the ground.”

Speech Therapy

“With speech, Daniel Fenton was excellent. He truly challenged me with memory — my major issue. Daniel also helped me with enunciation because I struggled with pronouncing words.”

Exercises administered by therapist Daniel Fenton included memory games centered around stories and schedules as well as analytical games that encouraged her to find streets, complete puzzles and list synonyms for select words.

“He was really good and helped me with my memory and ability to connect the dots and put things back together.”

Daniel says, “I first met Sway on her second day in the hospital when nursing asked me to reassess her because they’d noticed her swallowing was already rapidly improving. I was very happy to clear her to be allowed to eat and drink again. I then had the pleasure of working with her in the outpatient setting to practice with her speech and cognitive skills. She made amazing progress during her time in therapy and as a result, she was discharged after only a couple months. It is wonderful to see her returning to many of her pre-stroke activities, although we certainly miss having her around the clinic!”

Occupational Therapy

“Amy with occupational therapy truly worked the left side of my body. When I first went to Amy, I couldn’t feel anything on my left. Now I can use my left hand, and I can feel sensation on my left side. She also challenged me to use only my left hand without support from my right. It helped me with grasping things and gaining strength in the left hand.”

Swayzine’s Life Today

Today, Swayzine is back on track with getting in her daily steps as well as spending time with friends.

With the support of her medical team, she is able to manage her heart health and chronic conditions. She also now sees a neurologist.

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WakeMed Stroke Rehabilitation

State-of-the-art services are available in the WakeMed Rehabilitation Hospital, WakeMed Outpatient Rehabilitation facilities and brain and spine programs to help patients regain mobility and independence.

WakeMed Rehab Hospital

Our flagship Rehab Hospital is a 103-bed inpatient rehab facility (IRF) with dedicated units and gyms for children’s/pediatric rehab, spinal cord injury and brain injury. These units are equipped with highly advanced technology to address the specific needs of adults and children in recovery.

WakeMed Outpatient Centers

WakeMed’s 10+ outpatient rehabilitation centers connect adults and children with outpatient physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists and even nutritionists for ongoing therapies and specialty programs, such as vestibular rehab therapy for balance issues, vertigo and dizziness after stroke and brain injury and aquatic therapy in WakeMed Rehab’s pool.

Intensive Day Treatment Programs

After a hospital stay, patients in need of two or more therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or neuropsychology can continue their progress with intensive, coordinated outpatient rehab programs. A nurse, case manager and psychiatrist are available to support each patient.

If you or someone you love is suffering with challenges after a stroke, contact WakeMed Stroke Rehabilitation Admissions Department at 919-350-7876 or e-mail the Admissions Department at wmrehabilitation@wakemed.org.