“I love who I’m becoming”
For Amanda Carnahan, a crisis was a new beginning.
Amanda Carnahan was fighting to survive emotionally during the pandemic. And then she had a stroke. She still faces challenges in her recovery, but she’s living with a newfound sense of purpose.
For Amanda, recognizing her kids again was a big milestone.
Amanda was motivated to get better for her family.
It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the whole world was dealing with fear, uncertainty and isolation. Amanda was in a dark place emotionally. “I was digging through my trunk, summoning up any spark of joy — memories of happier times, especially with my kids — just trying to find a way to survive,” she recalls. Then, a week before her 39th birthday, her life took a dramatic turn: Amanda had an ischemic stroke
The stroke was caused by a previously undiagnosed hole in her heart, a condition known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO). It was so severe that doctors called her husband to the hospital to say a final goodbye. With COVID restrictions being stringent at that time, he wasn’t even allowed to stay in the hospital to find out if his wife lived or died — he was sent home to wait for that news.
But Amanda wasn’t ready to go.
Thanks to a rapid response and advanced treatment — clot-busting medication (tPA) and endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) — she pulled through. In surviving, she discovered something she hadn’t felt in a long time: the desire to enjoy life again.
“It wasn’t my time,” Amanda says. “And it wasn’t my choice to make.”
Amanda began to reflect on everything: her family, her faith, her legacy. These became the compass points for the next chapter of the life she hoped to rebuild. But recovery was far from easy.
One of the most heartbreaking challenges for Amanda after her stroke was that she no longer recognized her own children. She knew their names; she knew she had kids; but when her children stood before her, their faces were unfamiliar. Every day, her husband had to remind her who they were. For three months, she lived with that painful disconnect.
Then one day, something shifted.
“I recognized them. And the next day, I still recognized them. That was huge!” she recalls. “I felt this overwhelming sense of peace.”
Feeling joy again that day was pivotal, but Amanda’s journey back hasn’t been linear, and she still faces challenges: Her left hand no longer cooperates. Her emotions surge without warning. Her brain processes things more slowly than before. But while she is constantly afraid of having another stroke, she refuses to give up. “There were so many days when it would’ve been easier to give up,” Amanda says. “But I didn’t. I kept going. Because my kids are watching.”
Amanda has returned to work — she wanted to start fresh in a new job where no one knew her history. That meant having to explain why things took her longer, but she persevered.
“The struggle is hard,” Amanda says. “But every day I get up and recognize it will be hard and I make the choice to do it anyway.”
This year Amanda was honoured to meet Dr. Michael Hill, a leader in EVT research, for an emotional surprise. It was a full-circle moment.
“My stroke tried to break me. But in the end, I won. I’m here. I get to experience this crazy life,” says Amanda. “I love who I am becoming because I fought really, really hard for her.”
- See the researchers working on more life-saving breakthroughs
- Learn more about stroke research and recovery
- See how EVT is changing outcomes for people living with stroke
Taking on impossible strokes
Dr. Michael Hill, a professor of neurology, took on the most severe forms of stroke — once believed to be untreatable. Thanks to the advances he and his team made in endovascular treatment (EVT), an ischemic stroke in 2025 doesn’t automatically lead to death or the loss of independence. Today, many people living with stroke can return to work, stay active and share in meaningful milestones with the ones they love.
After Donald had a stroke at 26, a treatment breakthrough helped him reclaim his independence.
Melissa was 28 when she had a stroke. Thanks to advances in research, she finished university and got a job in her dream field.
John’s wish to walk his daughter down the aisle came true, thanks to a revolutionary stroke treatment.
EVT let Natalie write new life chapters — publishing a children's book, teaching, and watching her daughter graduate.
Mark is swinging his clubs on the golf course and dirt biking on the trails again, after groundbreaking stroke treatment.
Following advanced stroke treatment, Amanda’s greatest recovery milestone wasn’t physical — it was seeing her children and knowing who they were again.
