Click here to read the article directly from the newspaper
After stroke, a new life found in art
Former teacher forges new path after being stricken at 41
By Tom Holmes
Up until seven years ago, Forest Park resident Heather Kadlec had created a good life for herself. An all-state tennis player in high school, she remained physically active as an adult, had earned two masters degrees and was a beloved teacher at S.E. Gross Middle School in Brookfield.
Then, in 2011, she suffered a stroke that severely limited her ability to talk, read
and write. Kadlec was just 41-years-old. Her story is one of grieving the loss of
her past life and creating a new one for herself with the help of many allies.
Emergency room doctors at Oak Park Rush Hospital took several hours to
realize the symptoms Kadlec was exhibiting meant that she was having a
stroke, because, well, at 41-years-old she just didn't fit the prototype of a person
experiencing an ischemic stroke, which is when a blood clot in the brain blocks
blood flow to the cerebral arteries.
Her diagnosis was made more than four hours after the stroke began, which
meant the window of opportunity for doctors to administer a clot-dissolving
drug had closed. The damage to the left side of Kadlec's brain was complete.
Kadlec lay in a coma for four days, and stayed in the hospital for a month. After
fusing together major arteries, surgeons removed the top left part of Kadlec's
skull, in an effort to relieve pressure on her brain. Kadlec then spent a month at
the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago before coming home. Her "full-time job"
the first five years after her stroke involved visits to doctors and therapy.
Physically, Kadlec lost the use of her right hand and the ability to speak except
for a few words. Husband Jonathan Shack explained that the left side of the
brain, where the damage caused by the stroke is located, is where
communication is centered. Kadlec's working vocabulary consists mainly of
"yes" and "no." Shack, somewhat jokingly, said that his conversations with his
wife sometimes amount to a game of 20 questions. Reading and writing are
also difficult.
Kadlec's loss of physical abilities was huge, but perhaps more devastating was
the loss of the three activities that gave great meaning to her life. The first,
and most important to her, was her work as a teacher and then an assistant
principal and curriculum coordinator in Brookfield. For Kadlec, teaching was a
passion, not just a job.
A second major loss for her was the ability to read; the third the ability to drive a
car. Driving meant independence. Although Kadlec's skills are no longer sufficient to drive in traffic, she still finds great pleasure in occasionally going out with her husband and driving around an empty parking lot.
Kadlec said she felt depressed and angry immediately following her stroke, and
that she still feels some sadness at losing the ability to teach, read and drive.
But she has responded to the loss of these sources of meaning by creating a
new life for herself. Perhaps the most noticeable part of her new life is her art.
Six months after her stroke, Kadlec took a watercolor class at the Oak Park Art
League taught by a man, who she refers to simply as "Tony," who has become
her mentor. Learning to paint with her left hand, Kadlec gradually acquired the
ability to paint pictures and print them as greeting cards. These cards have
been good enough to sell. Kadlec's paintings and greeting cards are exhibited
at art shows and are for sale at Empowering Gardens in Forest Park and
Fitzgerald's Fine Stationary, Visit Oak Park and at the Sears Pharmacy in Oak
Park.
Not only has the creation of art given meaning to Kadlec's life, it has become a
way to make friends and form a community. Kadlec's own adventurous spirit
has also served her well. She has formed relationships up and down Madison
Street by regularly venturing out and exploring local businesses. Recently, when
her husband tried to order a coffee for her at Counter Coffee, the barista told
him, "That's not the way she likes it."
Another door which opened a new life for Kadlec has been music therapy.
Shack explained that the undamaged part of her brain, the right hemisphere, is
the center for music and art. In music therapy, Kadlec discovered that when
she practices singing a song, she is able to vocalize many more words than if
she tried to simply speak from the left side of her brain. Once at a concert, she
was able to sing a whole Maroon 5 song.
Most important has been the loving support she has received from many
sources. When Kadlec speaks, she often touches the arm and shoulder of her
husband. He, in turn, noted how many of her friends have stuck with her and
support her to this day. He choked up when he recalled how her former sixth,
seventh and eighth graders raised $18,000 in a one night fundraiser they
organized on her behalf.
Shack also raved about the Stroke Camp that the couple attends a few times a
year. At Camp, volunteers treat stroke victims and their caretakers to a
weekend where they take care of all of their needs. Its goal is to allow stroke
victims to get away and find support and inspiration in each other.