She wasn't expected to walk again, much less teach yoga, after stroke at 44. 她现在两者都做.

LeeAnn Walton rushed from work to a fitness club in New York City to lead a yoga class. Her classes had become so popular that she was booked daily at locations in and around Manhattan.

教瑜伽是我的副业. She enjoyed it so much more than her demanding office job that she hoped to make a career out of it.

On this February day, Walton started leading the group through a series of warmup poses. 她在教室里走来走去帮助学生, 她突然感到头上一阵痉挛, 就好像有人在里面放了一根橡皮筋. 接着，她的脑子里响起了“砰”的一声.

“真奇怪，”她想. 但她感觉很好.

几分钟后，她的右手不自然地扭了一下. 她说话开始含糊不清了. 她失去平衡，摔倒在一名学生身上，然后呕吐了.

沃尔顿的下一个记忆来自两天后. 她在重症监护室醒来，身上连着多台机器. 她的头疼得很厉害，这是她从未经历过的.

“李安，你中风了，”一位医生告诉她.

"What?" she said. 当时44岁的沃尔顿还不知道中风是什么.

“你能感觉到我的手在哪里吗??" he said.

“在我的右小腿上，”她说.

"Good," he said.

Although she could feel the doctor's hand on her leg, she could barely move her right side. It felt like someone had strapped heavy weights to her arm and leg.

Doctors explained that a blood vessel ruptured in her brain, causing bleeding. 这被称为脑出血性中风. She'd undergone emergency surgery to relieve pressure around her brain. 医生找不到中风的原因.

在她的房间外，医生们讨论着她的病情. From her bed, she heard one of them say, "She'll probably never be able to walk or teach yoga again."

“我要让他们看看，”她想.

一周后，她被送往紧急康复中心. 那时，沃顿已经能够在搀扶下蹒跚行走了. 她不能用右手抓东西. 左撇子是一种福气. She had a few lapses in memory, but her overall cognition had returned.

在康复中心，她每天接受物理和职业治疗. After working with therapists, Walton did more exercises on her own.

到了第二周，她可以在搀扶下在大厅里行走了. She would hunch over and pull her leg into a high march or drag it behind her. 她拒绝任何助行器.

After 10 days, the strength in her right side had improved enough for Walton to go home.

"You have a very challenging road ahead of you," a therapist told her. "Good luck."

Walton, who lives alone, continued with therapy and improved slowly. Within three months, she returned to her day job to keep her health insurance.

She was allowed to arrive late and leave early to avoid the crush of passengers on the subway. 尽管如此，还是会有人撞到她，或者骂她太慢.

她下班回到家，倒在床上. 看到藏在沙发下面的瑜伽垫，她哭了.

她中风六个月后, 沃尔顿的右臂开始颤抖, 伴随着剧烈的疼痛. No one knew why.

Injected medication slowed the tremors, though she continued to have sporadic pain.

在她中风大约一年后，COVID-19大流行袭来. 沃尔顿安心地待在家里. 她不用坐地铁. 朋友们没有强迫她参加社交活动. 她继续自己的治疗.

随着COVID-19大流行的爆发, Walton, who is Korean, feared the increased violence and discrimination against Asian people. She soon moved to Long Island City, a more diverse community in the New York City borough of Queens.

去年春天，她又开始颤抖了.

她辞去了工作，专注于康复. 她尝试了整体疗法和替代疗法. 她的颤抖和疼痛程度都有了明显的改善.

Walton also completed a new physical therapy program with intensive gait training. 她觉得她的走路又接近正常了.

她的治疗师劝她试着做一些简单、温和的瑜伽动作.

“你现在强壮多了，”她对沃尔顿说. “开始准备你的表格."

去年秋天，沃顿开始每天练习一些简单的动作. In January, she started teaching basic classes, leading as many as three a week.

"I cry every day with gratitude because I never really thought I was going to do this again," she said.

Her close friend Amber Harrison is a registered nurse, so she knew the obstacles Walton would face.

“但李安是个斗士，”哈里森说. "Although it changed everything in her life, I look at her now and I think she's 100% a miracle."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.