After stroke, survivor reaches out to other victims

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REDDING, Calif. -- It's been a year since Ken Knowles suffered a brain-stem stroke that almost killed him and paralyzed the right side of his body.Knowles, 39, has had to learn to walk, talk and eat again. He spent two months in the hospitalThe stroke, for a time, left Knowles with no gag reflex, so he had to be fed by a tube. Knowles still gets dizzy and often must sit down to steady himself.But Knowles refuses to dwell on the negative. In fact, the former health company executive, who moved to Redding, Calif., in 1999, wants to use his experience to help others.Knowles has started a stroke-survivor support group that met for the first time earlier this month.In addition to his support group, Knowles is working on starting a nonprofit foundation, Foundation For Hope, to help stroke survivors. Knowles envisions going to companies and raising money to help stroke victims pay for care that insurance won't pick up."Every day I wake up it's a new journey," Knowles said.In April, Knowles no longer needed his wheelchair and started walking with a cane. He got rid of the cane about two months ago. In July, Knowles drove for the first time since before the stroke.Knowles says he had no risk factors or warning signs. Today he takes blood thinners to prevent another stroke.Knowles was a high-level executive for a pharmaceutical company before his stroke. He enjoyed mountain biking and rock climbing."I had the world at my fingertips," Knowles said.Because he was so active, Knowles thinks in retrospect he had an even tougher time mentally dealing with his stroke. "It was so bad, I would just lay in bed and wouldn't get up," Knowles said. While Knowles credits family, friends and doctors for helping him shake his depression, he saves the greatest praise for this 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, who lives in Southern California with her mother. Hannah spent this past summer with Knowles.In the dark morass of his depression, Knowles remembers his daughter pleading to him."She said, 'Dad, don't give up. I need you. Keep fighting,'" Knowles said.Physical therapist Suzanne Cresswell works with Knowles three times a week, about two hours each day. Cresswell helps Knowles' brain reconnect with this body. On this particular day, Cresswell follows behind Knowles as he walks, applying pressure, which she says helps the brain feed the correct information to the legs."We need the correct information going to the brain, that's what my hands provide," Cresswell said.As Cresswell stands behind Knowles, giving support, he beams about the strides he's made."As you can see, the walking is not very pretty, but at least it's walking," Knowles said.(Contact David Benda of the Redding Record Searchlight in California at dbenda(at)redding.com.)