For Katherine Isaac, having a stroke in her 40s was shocking and frightening enough — but she also wasn’t prepared for the emotional toll while she recovered.
The Ajax, Ont., resident caught COVID-19 in 2021 and realized something was wrong when she couldn’t make it up the stairs at home without being out of breath. She called 911, and wound up hospitalized with low levels of oxygen. She was then placed on a ventilator in the ICU.
A few days into her hospital stay, Isaac realized her left arm was becoming harder to control. She couldn’t lift it, or even grip a
