Lee Cayer
S.A.C Dip (Like Skills Coaching), Equine Guided Facilitator, Stroke Survivor
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Stroke Survivor (What they don't tell you after you've survived) Expert
Lee Cayer Quick Facts
Lee Cayer is a 45 year old stroke survivor. She and her husband Mike operate Eagle Spirit Ranch in Willow Bunch, Sask. She comes from a long line of horsemen. Her life revolves around rodeo, horses, her family and the cowboy way of life.
Her stroke (in 2009) has not slowed her down. An avid barrel racer, reiner and coach, she has searched for challenges and opportunities to continuously learn about equine behavior and the relationship between horse and rider. Following her 'life path' she networks with many like minded friends and business associates all over Canada and the US. Lee recognizes the special bond horses and humans share and feels Equine Guided Facilitation is a natural evolution to enhancing life-skills development and was very instrumental in her stroke recovery. Her loyalty and devotion to her family and extended family is centered around the love of horsemanship and the ranch, passing on life long traditions.
Lees family recognized the signs of stroke (even though there was total disbelief) from hearing radio announcements on the local radio station. There is only a 4 hour window of opportunity for strokes like Lees to be reversed with such new 'miracle' drugs such as tPA. And many rural hospitals in Saskatchewan do not have a life saving stroke protocol in place as they do not have the diagnostic equipment to to even check for a stroke. Their ranch is over an hour away by ambulance to a hospital that could provide stroke care, like many rural farmers and ranchers all over the country. Minutes equal brain.
Lee and her family have made a full commitment to the Heart and Stroke Foundation to get the word out to communities everywhere. She is a much sought after spokesperson for the Foundation and is publicly recognized as the 'New Face Of Stroke'.
Help us to spread the word. Lee can be contacted either through the Saskatchewan Heart and Stroke Foundation or personally at 306-473-2777
Websites & resources
SelfGrowth-published websites, downloads, and contributor profile websites connected to this expert.
Website
My Stroke Story
Read what a stroke survivor goes through on a daily basis. You and your family are not alone!
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Website
The Unstable Life
Cowgirl, ranch wife, reiner and equine enthusiast. Day to day living and life lessons on a rural, southern Saskatchewan horse ranch.
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Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Lee Cayer
Hello Everyone...thank you for the opportunity to share my stroke story with you.
I’d like you to close your eyes for a minute - and picture in your mind a stroke patient. what would they look like? Would they be a senior? would they be in a wheel chair or perhaps be unable to find the words to speak clearly?
Now open your eyes. You are looking at the new face of stroke. I may not be that picture you had in your mind, but I am one of a growing number of younger Canadians who have experienced a stroke.
My stroke story tool place on a March day in 2009. I was getting ready to go for a walk when I suffered a debilitating stroke on the right side of my body. In a flash, it paralyzed my whole right side. Like many people, I might have been tempted to think my strange symptoms were something else - anything but a stroke. Fortunately my family had been seeing a new awareness campaign from the Heart and Stroke Foundation that listed the signs of stroke and they recognized those signs in me.
Had I been more aware of ‘signs’ myself, I would have heeded my mares warnings the day before all this happened. I hadn’t been feeling good for a couple of days and my ‘Smoke’ horse didn’t want anything to do with me. She didn’t want me anywhere around her, let alone ride her. The ride out resulted in extreme behavior such as nipping and rearing. Looking back, I give her credit for trying to looking out for me. I watch and listen a lot closer to the messages my horses show me.
It turns out that the type of stroke I suffered was treatable with a miracle clot-busting treatment and within 6 minutes of having it put into my IV line I could move my fingers, six hours later I was moving my arm. For me it was the difference between a lengthy hospital stay and months of physical rehab or walking out of ICU on my own two feet, two days later.
With all the denial, emotions, physical and neurological challenges in the aftermath, the one thing waiting for me, was my herd of horses. They treated me a little differently and I let my mare show me when the time was right to swing a leg again. There was no happier moment as when I could ride. It was a course in patience and trust as I suffered from severe vertigo. But we made it through and next week my Smoke and I will be competing in Kalispell, Montana in a reining show.
My stroke has made me ete ally grateful for everything in my life, the good, the bad and the misunderstood. My horses help me with all other aspects of my life journey. I come from a long line of horsemen on both sides of my family. I can trace roots back to the War of 1812 and the New York Malitia, where a distant great-great-great? grandaddy served in the calvary. Another great- great...received the Queen Victoria trophy brass for his efforts in the management of Livery stables in England.
When I was a little girl, my daddy used to let me bet him a nickle onthe chucks at Cloverdale rodeo knowing that if there was any teams with greys...that would be my pick. So now, surrounded by my children and 7
grandchildren...some already sharing a passion for the ‘need for speed’ and I am delighted that we as a family (as some of you will understand) can feel ever thankful for being selected by our horses to enrich and add so much to our lives.
My goal is to give back to the many people and organizations that have helped me and my family. My hope is that by telling my story, I will help you understand how thankful I am for the important work of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. And I hope that you will take this message personally, because if stroke can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.