MEGHAN GUATTERY
Special to The Leader
Grey clouds hung overhead as Julie Williams, along with her team of graduate students and other staff members, prepared for the fifth annual Stroke Awareness Walk on Sept. 13.
Luckily the rain held off, allowing for a successful walk by the 174 students, survivors, family members and staff members in attendance.
Williams, clinic director of the Youngerman Center for Communications Disorders, has coordinated the walk since its debut in 2010.
“Stroke is the type of thing that can happen to anyone at any age,” said Williams. “It does not discriminate. It is very important for people to be aware of the signs of a stroke.”
While donations were accepted at the walk, there was no registration fee to participate in the event.
“We don’t have the walk to raise money,” said Williams. “The walk is intended to increase community awareness of stroke and stroke prevention. It is also to promote community awareness for the services provided at the Youngerman Center.”
The Youngerman Center, which is located in Thompson Hall, is operated by the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences.
“We do a lot of awareness on preventative measures of stroke,” said Ashley Tyson, a graduate student in the communication disorders and sciences department. “We also have a stroke and head injury support group that meets twice per month.”
According to the Communication Disorders Department website, the Youngerman Center for Communication Disorders was founded in 1955 by Dr. Henry C. Youngerman. It was the first functioning regional center in New York State, serving the five counties in Western New York.
“A lot of people don’t know that we can work with stroke victims; they just think we work with children,” said communication disorders and sciences graduate student Sarah Falkenhagen.
The center offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment services for speech, hearing and language to residents in the community as well as college students, faculty and staff.
“When you have a stroke you could have possible side effects from it including speech and cognitive impairment, lots of different things we could provide therapy for,” said Angela Montaldi, a communication disorders and sciences graduate student.
In addition to the walk, informational brochures were available and a raffle and Chinese auction were held. A stroke awareness trivia wheel was created for the event. Free hearing screenings were also offered and were conducted by Marc Wilcox, the audiologist at the Youngerman Center.
“Even though this is our big stroke awareness event, it does bring awareness to the Youngerman Center and that we are here on campus and can do so much to help,” said Chris Gerber, clinical supervisor and instructor.
At 10 a.m., the attendees had gathered around Williams in a semicircle, eager for the walk to begin.
After a quick introduction by Williams, President Horvath spoke about the Youngerman Center.
“Over the past 57 years, the Youngerman Center has expanded its services by developing many relationships with community and state agencies and establishing state-of-the-art instrumentation laboratories for the evaluation and treatment of communication and hearing disorders,” Horvath said in her speech.
Williams spoke about the devastating statistics surrounding strokes in the United States.
“According to the National Stroke Association (NSA),” said Williams, “approximately 795,000 strokes will occur this year. A stroke, or ‘brain attack,’ occurs when vital blood flow and oxygen to the brain is cut off. Stroke is the third leading cause of death, killing about 137,000 people each year and a leading cause of serious, long term disability.”
The NSA website also states that one stroke occurs every 40 seconds, and takes a life approximately every four minutes.
While the walk was just about two miles long, Williams reminded the participants that mileage did not matter.
“The whole point of the walk isn’t for distance,” said Williams. “The survivors set the pace.”
A banner is created each year and held at the front of the walk by the stroke survivors in attendance.
“Besides increasing awareness, part of it is the pride of the participants and their families,” said Gerber. “It’s the pride in knowing that services have helped them regain communication and living skills when you watch them walking, talking and beaming while holding the sign and leading the walk. Look at me, I survived. I am communicating with my family and the world.”
Donations can be made to the Youngerman Center for Communication Disorders Stroke/Head Injury Support Group Fund online or at the Fredonia College Foundation.