Olympic ski-crosser Sami Kennedy-Sim overcomes stroke at 25
A minor stroke put Sami Kennedy-Sim on a detour that took her months to navigate out of - now the Australian ski-crosser is on track for Sochi
When she felt her face drooping and paralysis down her left side after waking one morning, though, she could barely fathom what was happening.
That was in April, less than 10 months before the Winter Olympics. After an ambulance trip, five days in the hospital and several months of rehabilitation following a minor stroke, Kennedy-Sim is in contention for a spot on Australia's freestyle team for Sochi.
When she leaves early next month for Canada and the first of five World Cup ski-cross qualifying events, the former track athlete, surf lifesaver and Alpine skier goes as a poster girl for Australia's National Stroke Foundation.
Kennedy-Sim - fit, full of life and only 25 - said the stroke was a shocking experience. "As I struggled in bed, my symptoms got worse," she said, recalling that morning. "I was gasping for air … unable to speak."
Now she wants to put it behind her. "Fortunately, my stroke was really minor, and once I was able to get on with the job, I didn't really want to know anything else about what might have caused it," she said. "About 30 per cent of young people who have strokes, they never determine the cause."