Trillium In The News

The Mississauga News

Those Heaney women are fighters

May 29, 2002

Sixty-two year old Kathleen Heaney was supposed to go to Salt Lake City to watch her daughter Geraldine win Olympic gold with the Canadian women's hockey team. But she suffered a stroke on New Year's Eve and was forced to cancel her plans.

Instead, the North York resident watched the Olympic hockey on television and continued therapy with speech pathologists at the Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga.

With Geraldine at her side, Heaney talked about that therapy to 100 patients, family and hospital staff last Wednesday afternoon in the Trillium Health Centre auditorium. The "Hear Me Speak" symposium highlighted the success of stroke patients dealing with speech and language problems.

Surviving the stroke was only part of the battle for Heaney, who had to relearn how to walk, spell and write. She had difficulty swallowing and talking.

When she could talk again, she told everybody in the hospital about her 34-year-old daughter, Geraldine, who was going to play defense for the Canadian women's hockey team. Geraldine, known as the Bobby Orr of women's hockey, is the only woman to have played on the national team for 12 years.

Kathleen Heaney still comes to Trillium two days a week for therapy. Thanks to plenty of hard work, family support and the help of speech pathologists, she is doing well.

" At first, my words were all slurred and I had difficulty coming up with the word I wanted," she said. "I didn't want to talk to anyone, but I needed to regain my speech, and reading and math skills so I could go back to my job in retail."

Before the stroke the mother of five had worked selling shoes for 24 years. She was no stranger to hard work, but overcoming a stroke was daunting.

"There were a few times when I just cried it out," she said. "It was so depressing."
Heaney says her family was very helpful and husband Mike helped her with homework exercises. Meeting her for the first time, you would never guess that she is one of the 40,000-50,000 Canadians who suffer a stroke each year.

Trillium speech pathologist Patty Matsuo of Mississauga said perseverance is essential to overcoming the effects of a stroke.

Each year, the Trillium Health Centre treats 500 stroke victims. Many of the 40 per cent who need rehabilitation are dealing with speech problems.
 

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