Thank you. I am delighted to speak with (this group today) and share my personal experience with stroke and stroke recovery. As you can see, I need a little help to get my message across today and I hope everyone will be able to follow along. I want to dedicate this talk today to my late mother, Elizabeth Burnet Glover. Her love and guidance set my course in life and I thank her every day for that.
The message I want to share with you is one of hope and determination. No matter what the odds are, you have the ability every day to wake up and choose how you want your life to be. I have chosen to move forward despite the physical setbacks I struggle with every day. I am determined to live an intentional life full of new experiences, business success and meaningful relationships. I didn't make that decision AFTER my stroke - I made that decision when I was 15. Let me share with you how it all came about.
I grew up in the 1950's. To put it simply, I was a child of privilege. My family tree includes my great grandmother who was 1st cousin to the mother of Winston Churchill, (slide of Churchill) and the kin of John Deere ( slide). You would think because of those bloodlines and wealth, I would have it made. Well, when I was 15, my fathe, invested the family fortune in the first cable television network. The company collapsed, taking with it the family fortune.
My father's decision changed my life. I became homeless at 15. I moved in with cousins and earned money-pumping gas. (Slide of you in front of gas station) I quit high school in 10th grade to study auto mechanics. No one came to our rescue. If I were going to make anything of myself in this world I would be doing it on my own. I didn't exactly know how right then and there, but I knew it was up to me.
When I turned 18, I went to work for a GM Dealer as a certified Mechanic. ( slide) I could disassemble any GM car and put it back together with speed and accuracy. At 21, I was burned on 60% of my body and hospitalized for seven months. After healing, I moved to San Francisco, and used the garage below my house to repair cars during my rehabilitation. After two months, I had customers forming lines up and down the street, and after one year, I earned enough money to rent a ten bay commercial building to repair vehicles for commercial leasing operations as well as private customers. (slides)
One evening, six years later, I watched a TV show called "60 Minutes". The program was on the Middle East after the 1974 Oil Embargo. At that very moment, I knew I could only be happy working in the Middle East where the challenges equaled my abilities and motivations. First, I needed someone to hire me.
I began the great push on General Motors to introduce me to their Middle East Dealers. After six months of phone calls and letters I was nowhere. I would not give up. So, one day I said to myself "I am going to go to New York this weekend and knock on a few doors at the General Motors World Headquarters! When I appeared, they told me to leave, so I pounded my hand on the table and told them I was tired of writing and calling for six months. Reluctantly, they handed out my resume at an overseas dealer's convention. Shortly after that, I started getting calls from people from all over the world. Within six days, I took the highest offer from a United Arab Emirates Buick Dealer whose brother in law was the President of OPEC and a General Motors Dealer himself. I was excited!
I worked six months in the sand with not much more than a hammer and a pair of pliers. Very long, very hot days. I needed better equipment, newer technology and better-trained employees working with me. My problem was convincing the 85-year-old owner of the company, who did not speak a word of English, about my wonderful ideas.
Since he would not invest in the needed equipment, I had to find a way. I did not have much money so I had to get some financial support from equipment manufacturers and suppliers. My idea was to take a complete General Motors Repair Shop and showroom, in a thirty-five foot motor home to Saudi Arabia. (Show slide of trailer).
With help from suppliers, I purchased a used re-possessed motor home that would do the job. I loaded it with equipment and supplies and then put it on a ship headed for Saudi Arabia. (Slides of the trailer on the ship after it reached Saudi etc ). In my first 18 months in Saudi, I trained 1,000 mechanics, sold equipment to over thirty-five different Arab companies, and drove my mobile workshop across the desert sands of Saudi Arabia. (Any slides here of the desert) I worked in the front of the trailer during the day and slept in the back at night. Sometimes I would pull over for the night in the desert, cook a meal, take a shower and sleep in the middle of nowhere or high in the mountaintops.
For over 3 years, I helped GM dealers in Saudi build and operate their automotive service departments. My daily interactions with customers (many of whom were from the regional royal families) provided a foundation of business knowledge that was priceless. I developed close relationships with notable Saudi families, learned their language, studied their history and became successful. My optimism and good fortune gave me the confidence to open my own company and model my success in another new market - The Former Soviet Union.
I decided then - back in Saudi Arabia, in 1978, that if I were in this just for the money, it would be a lot easier to rob a bank. I was motivated to succeed in business - to put in the sweat, the effort, and cultivate the friendships, in order to gain back the pride and self-respect I felt I lost after my father's bankruptcy. I had something to prove and knew NOTHING would stop me. Nothing.
Throughout the 1990's, my company (ITIC) was involved in more than $100 million dollars of Russian commerce in the automotive field and was active in global information technology services. My business grew into a group of companies working in over 32 countries. We were successful because we relied on mutually trustful relationships with governments, corporations and individuals.
Opening new markets was grueling work. I traveled all the time. ( slides of planes, snow, desert etc. ) I mean ALL the time. I flew to areas of the world most people do not know exist or where they are on a map. (Perhaps a map of the FSU places) I met some of the most distasteful, dishonest and corrupt people on the planet and never once compromised my personal values and ethics, or those of my partners, in order to become successful.
By the spring of 2002, I was on top of the world. Financially, I was proud of the fact I built my own fortune - it was not given to me by my family but earned through hard work, long hours and developing great friendships. More importantly, I had regained the respect and recognition of my extended family - something I had strived for, for over 4 decades.
My health, I thought was excellent. I ate healthy and exercised daily. I even skydived in the past several months with my close friend and business partner Gennady! (skydive slide).
On April 29, 2002 - I had just completed a business presentation and returned home for the evening. When I came home, I did not feel well. I had a strange sensation that would not go away. Finally, I called 911 and told them I thought I was having a stroke. I had, in fact, suffered an aneurysm on my aorta. I should not have survived the aneurysm based on medical statistics. While in emergency surgery, I suffered a stroke which left me paralyzed on my right side and problems with my speech.
As the days went on, the effects of my stroke were devastating. I could not understand much of what was being said to me, and unable to name even the most common objects, express basic needs, or write down what I wanted. My physical abilities improved daily, yet I struggled to understand the simplest words and sentences. For 6 weeks I remained in Intensive Care. My close friend and business partner/Vice President, Gennady flew from Siberia, Russia to Fairfax, Virginia the day following my aneurysm. For the next 4 months, Gennady and other friends took care of things for me.
By the end of the summer, I was home and still unable to speak but physically I was improving greatly. Gennady returned to Russia and we planned our first business strip - to the Middle East for late September. I had to start living my life again even though I still relied on large doses of medications every day. Right before our trip, Gennady had an accident and died. An avid skydiver, Gennady was taking off for a jump in Russia, when the accident happened. After all his support, I was devastated. My attitude sunk and I still question why I was allowed to live and he was not? It took a very long time to come to terms with his accident and I have missed his optimism and friendship ever since.
My determination and optimism encourages my speech therapist to push me to succeed. While working with Karen, we developed a video to enhance the effectiveness of my home practice. I loaded software and scanning devices onto my laptop so I could read personal and professional emails, business documents and newspaper articles.
But the truth is, despite the effort I put in - It's now almost three years since my stroke - I am still limited in my ability to get my ideas across. I can write down a word and sound out the beginning sounds. I use more everyday phrases automatically, and name objects and people with more ease. I continue to use non-verbal communication skills to convey more sophisticated ideas effectively. I am blessed that friends and family encourage and support me, but support and optimism will not cure what I have.
Supporting the work being done with stem cell research will move us faster to the cure. Through the cloning of human embryos, stem cells can replace ones that failed in people like me with aphasia. This research will not only help stroke survivors, but will be instrumental in the treatment of heart, kidney, and liver disease victims. People diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease will also benefit from this research.
I am sure everyone in this room today knows of someone who is a victim of one of these diseases. As a nation, we have seen the devastating effects of Alzheimer's on Ronald Reagan. We have watched Michael J. Fox and Muhammed Ali appeal to Congress in regard to stem cell research funding. One of these diseases will affect you personally at some time in your life. Whether it be a relative or friend, once you see the damage of these diseases firsthand, you will begin to understand the hope stem cell research can provide.
My family legacy continues to be an important driver in my life. I wanted to be an important part of that legacy and, despite some setbacks, many of my goals were realized. But now I see my greatest challenge in front of me. I know a cure is out there and close at hand. I will not stop looking until I am able to stand in front of an audience and speak without help or assistance.
In closing, I want to quote my most eloquent relative - Sir Winston Churchill -a sufferer of Alzheimer's disease. If he were alive today, he would join us as a vocal supporter of continued research.
Support research on stem cells today by learning more about it and its value.
Thank you all.