MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — After a major health scare, a woman says she is healthy and getting stronger today for a reason. Now, she's sharing her story and delivering a message to someone she has yet to properly meet.
"I believe we all have our guardian angels, who are always watching over us," said Stephanie Hansen. "We don't see them. We don't hear them, but it's just that faith I have as a practicing Catholic that I have a guardian angel watching over me."
The little chapel at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford has become something of a personal sanctuary for Stephanie.
"Saying the Rosary every day is enormously important to me," she said. "I come to the chapel every day to pray it. Every time I go, I feel I have that whole space to be connected to God."
From there, she's always off to work busy days, providing home care for the Seniors Helping Seniors organization.
Then came a day in March. Stephanie left the chapel and was in the hospital parking lot when her feet suddenly felt heavy. She was struggling to walk. She was confused and couldn't find her car. She was having a stroke.
"There was a gentleman in his car, a hospital employee. He saw me in a very distressed, confused state," Stephanie remembered. "All I remember is him putting his arm around me, asking me if I'm OK. After that, I don't have any recollection. I woke up in the hospital. A procedure's being performed on me by a doctor. I was born with a congenital heart defect. That particular day, my heart went into afib, an irregular heartbeat, and that irregular heartbeat released a clot. Two days later, I was released from the hospital. Being released, I guess that's why they say it was a miracle here at the hospital. I have no restrictions. I have no permanent damage."
Stephanie knows how differently this could have turned out. The stroke could have happened while she was busy, out on the road. Instead, it was at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford, in view of a stranger who jumped in to help. She still doesn't know the person who helped her.
"Because he found me, I was able to receive quick medical care," Stephanie said. "What I want to tell him is I'm enormously grateful. There's a gentleman who found me, and I always reference him as the guardian angel who found me. I hope if you're watching this right now, I can somehow be able to connect with you and to thank you in person from the bottom of my heart."
Stephanie tells us it's important for you to know the signs and symptoms of a stroke -- so you can help someone who's suffering. The CDC says call 911 if you begin experiencing sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, sudden confusion or difficulty speaking, or sudden trouble walking or loss of balance.
