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| Mickey Clancy pictured right. |
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Mickey Clancy - Co-Founder and President, SSEEO
My stroke occurred in 1997. I was experiencing stroke-like symptoms, but was not completely incapacitated when I went to the hospital. Forty-two hours later, the clot in the artery in my brain had moved further up the vessel and caused a full-blown stroke. The stroke was in the cerebellum of the brain, which is the part of the brain that helps with coordination, balance and voluntary muscle movements. I was left unable to sit, stand or walk. I spent two weeks in the hospital, two weeks in an in-patient rehabilitation hospital and 11 weeks in outpatient rehab learning to walk again and just regain my life.
I returned to my job as a quality control analyst for a biotechnology firm almost six months to the day of my stroke. After 18 months, I quit my job because I was unable to keep up with the demands. I immediately signed up to volunteer with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA).
In 2004, I and four other stroke survivors, with help from the AHA/ASA, founded Stroke Survivors Empowering Each Other (SSEEO). SSEEO is the first organization of its kind within the US and is statewide in Illinois. Our mission is to provide a common voice for stroke survivors and the people in their lives. Our goals for SSEEO are to empower stroke survivors through advocacy, empower survivors and caregivers through peer visiting and to be a resource organization for those who have questions.
Besides being a Founding member of SSEEO, I am a member of the Illinois Advocacy Board of the AHA and a member of the Illinois Stroke Task Force. The purpose of both groups is to educate others about stroke.
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