Vacaville man overcomes surprising stroke
VACAVILLE — On the morning of Feb. 6, 2008, Vacaville resident Kelly Hess awoke with what he calls a “screaming headache.” While he’d been suffering with them for some time, this one caused him to black out.
His wife Sandy called 911 and when the paramedics arrived, Hess regained consciousness. They asked him if he felt well enough to get onto the stretcher.
Kelly Hess “Meet the Author” Event
- March 22 6-8 p.m.
- WineStyles
- 11-B Town Square Place
- Vacaville
- On the Web
- www.blackmyst.com
- www.wordclay.com
Hess said he did, but then proceeded to collapse because his entire left side was paralyzed.
He suffered a stroke. At age 38.
“It occurred to me then that it could have been a stroke, but I thought there was no way, I’m 38 years old,” Hess said. “That happens to people who are 80 years old on a golf course.”
After a CAT scan, it was revealed that Hess had a walnut-sized aneurysm in his brain. He was transferred to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento’s neurosurgery department, where he spent three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit.
“The doctors there explained that an aneurysm is a bulge in the vein — it’s kind of like if you leave the pressure on your hose and the end bulges,” Hess said. “Usually when an aneurysm ruptures or bursts, there is instant death, but mine had just bled and that’s what was causing the headaches. The doctors theorized that it was so big that it was causing clots and one of the clots came out and caused the stroke.”
According to specialists, Hess said, his particular type of aneurysm is called an “unearned” one, as he doesn’t have any of the typical indicators such as drug use or a family history of aneurysms. They don’t know if it was something that was building or just sprung up suddenly. Sometimes they just happen.
To repair the aneurysm and prevent future ones, Hess went through a 12-hour surgery, where 78 tiny platinum coils were fed, one-by-one, through an artery in his leg all the way up into his brain.
After the surgery, Hess transferred to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo, which has a rehabilitation center for stroke and brain injuries. He spent three weeks there.
“Within a day or two I could wiggle my left foot, which was a really good sign,” Hess said. “They started me on movement exercises to reconnect brain pathways and eventually they worked.”
Despite making remarkable progress as the result of his intensive physical therapy, Hess still suffers effects of his brain injury, including walking with a limp, no peripheral vision in his left eye and decreased manual dexterity in his left hand.
The loss of peripheral vision meant that Hess was no longer able to drive, but fortunately his job at the time was within walking distance of his home. Still, mobility became an issue as Hess would always need to get a ride to go anywhere not in walking distance, plus he wanted to keep up with his rambunctious then-5-year-old son, Benny.
His solution was to sell his car and use the funds to buy a Segway PT. The two-wheeled electronic transportation machine requires the user to stand while riding and uses gyroscopic sensors that detect body leanings and handlebars for navigation and locomotion.
“I thought about getting a bike, but with my left side the way it is, I didn’t feel comfortable with that,” Hess said. “I rented one from Napa Segway and buzzed around and loved it. I then bought one two years ago in Oakland. It balances for you, but I’ve still taken a couple of headers. It’s interesting that my whole life took a side path and it never would have occurred to me to buy a Segway if it wasn’t a necessity.”
Hess can be seen zipping along Vacaville streets on his Segway and spending time with his son, who rides his bike. Still, he found himself with more time on his hands than he used to have as he is on disability. One night, as he performed the daily ritual of reading to his son, Hess got an idea.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing and thought it would be cool to write a book,” Hess said. “I thought ‘I’m going to write something Benny would like to hear’ so I started and I wrote some more and some more.”
Once the book project began in earnest, Hess gained steam, but was often stymied by his self-doubt. He then hit the local library to search for guidance from experts.
“I’ve read a hundred of those ‘how-to-write-a-book’ books and at one point I had to ask myself if I really wanted to write a book or if I just loved reading those ‘how-to-write-a-book’ books,” Hess said. “I read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ and the one thing that stuck with me was when he said to just write. He said not to look back or stop and edit it, but to just keep it going and so that’s what I did. I just wrote, wrote, wrote and then went back afterward and polished it up.”
One of the most remarkable aspects of Hess’s journey to completing his novel is that in addition to being a “hunt-and-peck” typist before his stroke, Hess’s problems with his left hand forced him to learn to touch type using only his right hand. He was aware of the popular speech-to-text software that would have made his project easier, but “that felt like cheating,” he said.
Hess’s efforts resulted in his first novel, released in July 2011, “Black Myst: Eyes of the Enemy.” Once the book was completed, Hess shopped it around to several different agents, without success. But since the printing industry, like the music industry, became more egalitarian due to technology, closed doors didn’t mean there weren’t some open windows.
Hess published it himself through an Internet company called Wordclay. It is available at Amazon.com for the e-reader Kindle as well.
According to Hess’s website, Blackmyst.com, the 252-page novel is a fantasy adventure that tells the story of 12-year-old Beynn Firehand, who is “thrust into a world of magic, adventure and treachery after his village is attacked by the dreaded Sorak.”
The main character’s name is an anagram of Hess’s son Benny’s name, and when he read his story to him, the now 8-year-old hung on every word. Hess meant for his Black Myst to be a trilogy and the follow-up, “The Green Dagger,” was released in October 2011.
Hess is finishing up the final book in the series, “The Third Power,” and also is working on his first nonfiction work.
“I’m writing about the aneurysm,” Hess said. “I’m writing about what actually happened, the surgical procedure, going through recovery and the rest of it will be about recovering successfully. Hopefully it can inspire people who are going through the same thing.”
Reach Fairfield writer Tony Wade at getthelowdown@sbcglobal.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=133517
Posted by Tony Wade
on Feb 19 2012.
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Great article about a great person. Thanks. GH
fantastic article about an even better person. Congratulations Kelly – for your writing, and for overcoming the odds on your incredible journey!
Good story that has a lesson attached to it; I have had several friends who have died of a brain aneurysm that had symptoms of unusual extreme headaches prior to their death. Those deaths often occurred during their sleep. Kelly is very fortunate to get a second chance and an example to others to seek medical help in the earliest possible time of unusual and sudden increase of headaches.