Diana Carranza suffered a stroke at age 29 while at the beach in Chicago. She was hospitalized for a month and doctors were unsure if she would recover. Although she is now unable to walk or talk, Diana participates in marathons in her wheelchair and has physical therapy twice a month. Before her stroke, Diana had run several marathons but now relies on friends and family to help her complete marathons and with daily activities like eating. Racing continues to be an important part of Diana's recovery process and emotional well-being.

1. Briana Bueno
J304
Story Profile
32-year-old Stroke Survivor
At 29, Diana Carranza passed out while soaking up the sun at Lake Michigan
beach in Chicago, Illinois and suffered a stroke. Her family and friends could not talk to
her for a month because she was sedated and hospitalized. Doctors were not sure if she
would remember her family and friends.
Now, Diana is 32 and enjoys participating in the Chicago marathon in her
wheelchair. Not only does she commit to staying healthy but she also commits to her
therapy as a stroke survivor.
It is uncommon for 30-year-old’s to experience a stroke, but according to an
article in The Lancet, people aged 20-54 are a growing proportion of stroke victims.
According to the Stroke Center at University Hospital, only 10 percent of stroke victims
recover almost completely.
When Diana woke up after her stroke, tears fell from her eyes as she saw the look
on her mother’s face and realized that she was not going to be able to move or talk. She
was frightened because she did not know how to communicate with the doctors, her
family, or her friends.
Yolanda Carranza, Diana’s mother, said waiting for her daughter to wake up “was
the longest month of my life.”
Since then, Diana has been taking therapy twice a month and now communicates
through an iPad by typing, even though she is incapable of walking or talking.

2. Diana’s daily activities include reading, blogging, and eating. At first, Diana was
only allowed to eat or drink through her tube. Now she is able to chew and swallow and
enjoy all of her favorite foods. Family and friends help Diana eat by feeding her small
bites that she can easily chew up. She wears a bib at all times because she is not able to
swallow saliva consistently.
Diana’s typical outfit is sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt. She is always sitting
and doesn’t sit in any other chair but her wheelchair. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail so
that no hair covers her face because sometimes she has a hard time physically keeping
her head up. She prefers fuzzy socks for shoes and a blanket for a coat.
Diana has the help of her mom, dad, and younger brother to carry her to her
wheelchair, bed, and living room. When she wants someone’s attention she groans and
waits for someone to reply. She then types with one finger as much as she can onto her
iPad to communicate what she wants to say.
With the help of therapy, Diana learned another way to communicate: by using
her eyes. When someone asks her a yes or no question, she will either look up for yes or
look down for no.
Before her stroke, Diana had run several marathons. After her stroke, her friends
and family knew that she wanted to race again. One of Diana’s closest friends, Mary
Sanchez, brought Diana to a wheelchair marathon and said, “I will push you to the very
end of the finish line.” With the help of Mary and several other friends, Diana Carranza
was able to complete another marathon something as she thought she could never do
again.

3. When Diana had crossed the end of the finish line, she said she had never felt
more determined in her life. “It was very emotional,” Diana said.
Racing has been a significant part in Diana’s recovery and her family says that
she feels more emotionally stable. She hopes to receive permission from the state to
authorize a motorized wheelchair because she wants to be able to move around by
herself.