Robert M. (Mike) Sutton

My name is Robert M. (Mike) Sutton. Better known as slack. I stroked on Feb. 5th 1995. It was on a Sunday morning at about 6:00 a.m. I was using the bathroom and started to feel bad and sat down. I was setting on the commode and all of a sudden I was on the floor.

The door was shut to the bathroom. My poodle dog was outside the door having a fit and woke my wife. She called an ambulance. They carried me to the emergency room where they ran tests, MRI etc. and didn't find anything, so they sent me home. Somehow my wife managed to get me in the house. I lay on the sofa all day and never got any better, so my wife called the ambulance again. They took me to the emergency room again. They decided to send me to Memphis, about 60 miles away for another MRI. When my wife arrived I was flailing my arms wildly and the doctor told my wife I had a stroke. During the next couple of days I had two brain surgeries where they removed about 40% of my cerebellum. My memory is kind of fuzzy after that. My wife says I spent some time in critical care and rehab. I was in the hospital and was starting to get depressed. My wife noticed this and told my Neuro that she was going to take me home. After I got home my condition improved. I had some people come to my home and give me PT and speech therapy. With the help of family and friends and God, I made it through. I go to the gym now 4 days a week and drive occasionally but not very often. I am pictured with my wife in the strokenetwork gallery.