TOLEDO, Ohio — For many families, the tradition of yelling "play ball!" at a baseball game is fun, but expected.
Shauna Rasor and her family? They are treating it as a miracle.
"I think in this kind of situation, you really find out who has your back," Rasor said.
The Toledo Mud Hens and ProMedica partnered to host 'Strikeout Stroke' night at Thursday's game at Fifth Third Field, honoring stroke survivors and raising awareness about them.
One of those who was honored was Rasor, a native of Whiteford Township, who on May 11 will be marking one year since she was admitted to ProMedica Toledo Hospital for an embolic stroke.
Embolic strokes are very dangerous, said Dr. Syed Zaidi, director of stroke and neurointervention at ProMedica Toledo Hospital.
"We have to understand that she was critically ill, fighting for her life," Zaidi said. "She was sick for a really long time."
This stroke came on out of nowhere, Rasor said. She was sitting in her bedroom last year and "just fell over."
"I didn't even know I was having a stroke," she said. "I just laid on the floor for about three hours until I could get to my phone and call my husband."
Fast-forward to her eventual arrival at the hospital, and part of the treatment plan for Rasor was for her to undergo a craniotomy, a surgery in which a part of the skull is removed to get to the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The procedure ensured Rasor's brain could have room to swell before healing.
"There's only so much space in our skull, so as our brain swells, it can push onto the normal brain tissue, which can be fatal very quickly," Zaidi said. "So, she underwent this emergency surgery where this skull bone was removed to allow the brain to swell outwards rather than inwards."
Rasor received the surgery and further treatment in the intensive care unit until June 24, 2023, when she was able to go home and be with her entire family once again.
She's grateful for her family's sacrifices and says without them, the healing process would have been much harder.
"My family and my friends have been amazing through this entire procedure, this whole last year really," Rasor said. "My husband was there with me every night in the ICU and helped arrange for people to be home with our kids. He's taken over the role as mom and dad. He's had to pick up the cooking and the role of bus driver, where I'd be taking our kids to different softball games or track meets and whatnot."
Rasor said she is continuing to rehabilitate her left arm, which was affected by the stroke, as well as work on her balance.
However, she plans on meeting her goal of running a 5K sometime this summer.