Back in the CFO Seat After Stroke

Avani Patel, 47, is an artist, a business owner, a mother, and a wife. She is someone who loves to stay busy and help others. And, as of April 2023, she is a multiple stroke survivor.

On April 29, 2023, Avani was at dinner with her son, daughter, and in-laws, when she began to get dizzy and have slurred speech. She told her family the only way she could in the moment, a quick text message, that prompted them to take her to the emergency room, where she learned she had experienced two strokes. Afterward, an MRI showed she had a large aneurysm that needed to be fixed surgically.

“During surgery, blood clots formed and caused me to have multiple additional strokes that left me paralyzed. I couldn’t move or walk or project my voice,” Avani recalls.

Avani came to Shepherd Center’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program, where her team of inpatient therapists worked with her to improve her fine motor, gross motor, and cognitive skills.

“My therapists combined physical with cognitive therapies to test my body and my brain,” Avani explains. “They would have me walking and doing obstacle courses while counting or singing the ABCs to see if I could be occupied and multi-task.”

These therapies would help Avani with many goals, including returning to work as CFO of her home health business, Azalea Home Care, Inc.

"I'm the CFO of the company — billing and payroll. [I] have to be sharp with numbers. I didn't want to make mistakes when I went back.”

Near the end of her time in inpatient, Avani completed a neuropsychology evaluation to determine her capacity to return to work. It was advised she take a year off and practice work duties at home before going back full-time. For a woman who admittedly loves to stay busy, this was tough to hear, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

“I knew I needed to prioritize myself more and do the things I was told to do,” she says.

Avani completed inpatient therapy just in time to attend her son’s tenth birthday on Sept. 25. That following week, she began Shepherd Pathways, Shepherd’s outpatient and residential rehabilitation program for people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.

“Pathways was amazing,” Avani says. “They connected with my individual needs and geared all my therapies to returning to my daily routine. They made me at ease.”

Among the life skills that Avani wanted to practice was bracelet threading to participate in an important tradition in her faith that also taps into her passion for art.

“In Hinduism, we celebrate brother/sister day, or Rakhi. Sisters tie bracelets on brothers or brother figures in their lives telling them that we are here to protect them and give them good blessings, and in return, they protect us back,” Avani explains. “You can buy them, but I think it’s special to make them for loved ones.”

While it takes her longer than it did pre-stroke, she has now returned to making up to 14 of these intricate, hand beaded bracelets each year.

Today, Avani continues to have regular check-ins with her doctors and psychologist at Shepherd Center. After taking a year off work, she is back to the job she loves.

“I love helping people, hence why I'm in the healthcare field. When I went to school, I studied pharmacy, but I didn't pursue it. Even though I do finance for a healthcare company now, I'm still helping people in my own way.”

And, she remains a committed mom to her two kids, who are in high school and middle school.

“I have an amazing support system,” Avani says. “My husband and family have been my rock throughout this. And I appreciate every single person at Shepherd. Shepherd will always be part of my life, and I’m grateful for that.”

By Damjana Alverson