Young Stroke Survivor Wants Others to Know They Can Keep Going

After that, it’s on to medical school and hopefully many other races for the former cross-country track star. And he wants other stroke survivors to realize they could be doing the same thing.

“I’ve run miles and miles through high school and here in town. It’s a ‘bucket list’ thing for me now to run this race, but I hope it will just be the start,” said Soane. “I’m getting back to socializing and doing fun physical things. I may have to adapt some of them, but I can do them and I want other survivors to know they can to.”

Soane will make his 5K running debut at the Strides for Strokes 5K on June 11 at Lakeview Park in Provo. The event, sponsored by Utah Valley Hospital and other community partners, will start at 9 a.m. The one-mile survivors walk will take place at 9:45 a.m. Online race registration is available.

As a neuroscience major and pre-med student at BYU, Soane was actually learning about the physiology of a stroke when his occurred. It took place about a month after he suffered whiplash during a tubing accident on Lake Powell. That accident actually tore the inner lining of Soane’s vertebral artery which eventually caused the blood clot that led to the stroke.

“I rode my bike to work and I’d been there about 20 minutes when the signs of a stroke started to show up. I called my wife and she came and took me to the hospital,” said Soane.

Doctors gave Soane the clot-busting drug TPA after he arrived at the hospital and then the young husband went to the ICU. The stroke affected everything on the right side of Soane’s body from the jaw down. He started walking with assistance after about a week, but that was just the beginning of his long road to recovery.

“I had to think about every single muscle and make it move in order to walk. It was so strange,” remembered Soane. “Now I’m having to do the same thing with running. It’s just one muscle group at a time.”

Having a stroke in his mid-20s does put Soane on the younger side of the survivor group. But he’s hoping to use that to his advantage as he helps others increase their awareness about strokes and about what is possible after having one.

“I’m 27 and I had a stroke. But I’m back to running to support awareness and support the survivors. I want to let them know they’re not isolated and they don’t have to be disconnected from others,” said Soane.