Stroke floors fitness advocate - Lecturer found three days after collapsing at home

Dr Sasekea Harris had spent most of her life committed to a healthy lifestyle and, at 44, she never imagined a stroke could be part of her story.

"I would go jogging Mondays to Fridays, and I eat healthy," she said.

"I am the one who tell people that they need to exercise and watch what they eat."

However, despite her commitment to a healthy lifestyle, life had other plans for Harris, who is head of the Science & Engineering Branch Library at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. In 2021, her life was permanently altered when she suffered a stroke that made her left side partially functional.

"I went to bed fine the Sunday night," she recalled.

"I woke up the next day to go jogging but I had a headache and I thought that I went on the floor to lay down, but the doctors said they don't think that was what happened. I passed out and was not found until the Wednesday," she said.

Harris, who is also a senior lecturer in the Department of Library & Information Studies, lived alone. She had just taken leave and so no one found it suspicious when she did not show up for work on the Monday or Tuesday. However, a neighbour who knew her routine found it strange that she had not gone jogging and decided to check on her. It was then that Harris was found on the floor and taken to the hospital.

Harris said, when she regained consciousness, she had no idea that her left side was barely moveable.

"I remember the doctor telling me to lift my hand and I was getting irritated and was asking her if she didn't see that I was lifting, but my neighbour told me I was not lifting my hand," she said.

"The stroke left me unable to walk for several months. I had to relearn to do everything. I did a lot of therapy sessions to help me with independent living and how to walk again," she said.

The senior lecturer, who was speaking at the 7th Regional Disability Studies Conference at The UWI on Wednesday, said her condition had significant psychological effects, including anger, social isolation, depression and irritability.

"I had to see a psychiatrist because I was very angry. As far as I knew, I didn't have anything to give me a stroke. I did all I thought I was suppose to do, and I saw other people doing nothing and they are fine. I just wanted to die," she said.

Using her presentation to underscore how quickly life can change in an instant, Harris stressed that no one is ever far from experiencing disability. The conference's theme -- accessibility -- spoke directly to her lived reality. She believes that creating an accessible Caribbean must extend beyond physical infrastructure to include equitable access to education, healthcare and employment. She said that while progress has been made, many persons with disabilities continue to face persistent barriers that limit full participation in society.

For Harris, living with a disability is a reality to which she has had to adjust. Returning to work months later brought its own challenges. The world she had left was not fully prepared for the person she had become.

"I was once a people pleaser, but I tell people no now. After you have been down death's road and back, you see life differently," she said.

Despite everything, independence has slowly returned.

There was a time she could not dress herself. A nurse and her mother had to help her with basic daily tasks. Today, she lives alone again.

"I am living on my own again and basically do everything for myself," she said with pride.

Yet, even in recovery, she still faces the weight of public misunderstanding.

"People will say I am too young or pretty to be disabled, and how I manage to be disabled. I will park in the disabled parking spot and persons will just come and asked me why I am there. If I am in my calm Christian mood, I will ignore them, but if it is one of those days when I am stressed out, I will quarrel," she said.