Surprise stroke at 44 changes busy doctor’s lifestyle

UNC Health physician Dr. Michael Craig has seen many stroke patients, but he didn’t expect to become one at age 44.

“In 2023, I went out for a jog, and about half a mile from my house, I realized I couldn’t bear weight on my left leg, and I fell,” Craig says. “I thought I sprained my ankle, which I had. Then I realized I couldn’t roll over on to my back.”

Fortunately, one of Craig’s neighbors rushed to help, calling 911 when he noticed Craig was slurring his words.

“Symptoms of a stroke can be really subtle, which is why too many people wait too long to come in,” says UNC Health neurologist Dr. Dena Williams.

The most common signs of a stroke are difficulty maintaining balance, sudden vision changes, a numb or drooping face, an arm or leg feeling weaker on one side of your body and difficulties speaking or understanding speech.

Strokes can happen to anyone, even Craig, who ran half marathons. “I don’t think the realization really kicked in until I was getting a thrombectomy, a clot extraction, from the neurosurgeon,” Craig says.

Craig felt well soon after treatment, but later he experienced left-side neglect, not even realizing he wasn’t using his weak side, and deep fatigue set in.

Craig went through intense rehabilitation after his stroke, including physical, occupational and speech therapy. (Submitted photo)

Individualized rehabilitation

After a person receives stroke treatment, their care team begins planning for rehabilitation and trying to find out why the stroke happened so that another stroke can be prevented.

For some people, that may mean addressing their cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure or smoking habit. For Craig, it was the discovery of a congenital heart issue, treated with a heart catheterization procedure.

Then, he spent two weeks at the UNC Rehabilitation Center in Hillsborough for inpatient recovery.

“I could not walk at all when I got there because of the sprained ankle and left-sided weakness,” Craig says. “The rehab was aggressive, but I was incredibly impressed with how individualized everything was for me. I did physical therapy to work on balance and strength and occupational therapy to work on weakness in my left hand. By the time I left, I could walk and go up and down stairs.”

Craig also had speech therapy. “It was about making sure I could write notes, interpret clinical findings, give a presentation,” he says. “I had a lot of cognitive testing, learned how to manage fatigue and worked to make sure it was safe before returning to work.”

Another physical therapist helped him return to running. “I really had to focus on balance and learn how to adjust when I was on a long run or when I could feel myself getting tired,” he says.

A marathon, not a sprint

Six months after his stroke, he was able to run the Tar Heel 10 Miler. That sounds like a quick recovery, but it’s not the whole story.

“When people see me walking, they think I’m 100% better,” Craig says. “They don’t see the times I’ve struggled with fatigue or trying to talk when I’m at home.”

Recovery can take a year or longer and much work and effort, Williams says. “We have to remind people that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Craig has gone back to work and returned to sports like running and kayaking, but he’s also made some lifestyle changes.

“I was probably spending too much time at work and ignoring some parts of my health,” he says. “Now, my wife calls me Mike 2.0, because I put more focus into my marriage and my relationship with my kids. The stroke did bring into focus that I needed to change my priorities.”