HI.

THAT'S WEIRD.

HI, I'M KATHRYN WOLF, AND AT

26 YEARS OLD, I HAD A

MASSIVE BRAINSTEM STROKE AND

ALMOST DIED.

MY NAME IS JAY WOLF,

AND -- WHAT WAS THE OTHER

QUESTION?

I FORGOT.

SO KATHRYN AND I ARE BOTH

FROM THE DEEP SOUTH.

WE WENT TO COLLEGE TOGETHER

AT SANFORD UNIVERSITY.

FRESHMAN YEAR WE MET IN THE

CAFETERIA, AND WE BONDED

OVER OUR FOOD THERE.

AND I WEASELED MY WAY INTO

HER AFFECTIONS OVER SOME

TIME.

AFTER WE GRADUATED COLLEGE,

WE HAD A HUGE BLOWOUT

WEDDING THAT FALL.

DEEP SOUTH, ALL OF THE

FAMILY.

IN THAT DAY, ON

NOVEMBER 6, 2004, THE DAY OF

THIS RADICAL LOVE STORY OF

DEVOTION, OF HANGING IN

THERE WITH SOMEONE FOR

WORSE, IN SICKNESS,

FOREVER.

WHERE THERE CULTURE DOESN'T

EVEN UNDERSTAND IN REGARDS

TO MARRIAGE.

[BABY CRYING]

IT'S OKAY.

OUR LIFE WAS WONDERFUL.

AND I WAS DOING SOME

COMMERCIAL MODELING AND JAY

WOULD BE BOOKED ON MODELING

GIGS WITH ME TO BE A

MOTHER-SON TEAM.

AND WE WERE LIVING A DREAM.

ALL OF THAT CHANGED PRETTY

RADICALLY ONE MORNING IN

APRIL.

I WAS COOKING, AND MY HANDS

WENT NUMB.

MY ARMS WENT NUMB.

MY LEGS WENT NUMB.

I LOOKED AT HER PUPILS,

AND THEY WERE COMPLETELY

DILATED AND BLACK, AND I

KNEW SOMETHING WAS REALLY

WRONG.

AND I YELLED AND SCREAMED

OVER HER.

AND I CALLED 9-1-1

IMMEDIATELY.

IT WAS QUITE A CRITICAL

SITUATION, WITH A BLEEDING

OF THAT MAGNITUDE, AND WITH

THAT INFORMATION.

MOST UNFORTUNATELY DIE WHEN

THEY ARRIVE IN THAT

CONDITION.

THE SURGERY THAT WAS

SUPPOSED TO LAST EIGHT HOURS

LASTED 12, AND THEN

ULTIMATELY 16.

SO I GOT BY MYSELF IN THE

PRAYER CHAPEL AT UCLA AND I

BEGAN PRAYING AND CRYING

THROUGH THE BOOK OF JOB AND

ROMANS.

THE MORNING OF APRIL 22nd,

DR. GONZALEZ CAME OUT INTO

THE WAITING ROOM AS THE SUN

WAS RISING, AND HE WAS

ABSOLUTELY JUST TIRED AND

EXHAUSTED.

AND HE SAID, WELL, SHE

SURVIVED THE SURGERY.

BUT THERE WILL BE DEFICITS.

WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT

THOSE WILL BE YET.

SHE MAY BE IN A VEGETATIVE

STATE OR PARALYZED, BUT SHE

IS ALIVE.

AROUND ONE OR TWO HOURS

AFTER FINISHING THE SURGERY,

I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE

NURSES OF THE I.C.U., AND I

WAS EXPECTING THE WORST.

BUT THE NURSES WERE

ABSOLUTELY SURVIVED.

THEY WERE CALLING ME BECAUSE

KATHRYN WAS FOLLOWING

COMMANDS.

THEY WERE ASKING HER TO SHOW

TWO FINGERS, AND SHE WAS

DOING THAT.

AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

NORMALLY THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN

TO PATIENTS THAT UNDERGO A

SURGERY OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

SO I RAN TO I.C.U. TO SEE

HER, AND THERE SHE WAS,

FOLLOWING COMMANDS.

AND THAT WAS THE FIRST OF

MANY MIRACLES THAT HAPPENED

WITH KATHRYN.

WAKING UP IN THE ACUTE

REHAB ALMOST TWO MONTHS

AFTER MY BRAINSTEM STROKE

WAS SURREAL IN EVERY SENSE

OF THE WORD.

I JUST COULDN'T, LIKE, CATCH

ON.

LIKE, OH, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT

I DO NOW, I LAY HERE.

THE DAYS AND NIGHTS AND

WEEKS AND MONTHS.

AND WHILE I WAS OKAY,

ENGAGING AND EMBRACING MY

NEW LIFE, THERE WAS THIS

STRANGE, HORRIBLE SADNESS.

BECAUSE OF THE TRACH, AND

ALSO SOME PARALYSIS IN HER

MOUTH AND ON HER TONGUE, SHE

REALLY COULDN'T SPEAK.

SIMILAR TO HER LOVE OF FOOD,

KATHRYN ALSO LOVED TO TALK.

ANYBODY WHO KNOWS HER WOULD

SAY THAT.

SO I WOULD USE A LETTER

BOARD.

AND I WOULD TYPE WITH MY

WORKING LEFT HAND, LETTERS

THAT WOULD SPEAK WORDS.

SO I WOULD FRANTICALLY, OVER

AND OVER CRANK OUT ON THAT

LETTER BOARD, "I'M THE SAME

ON THE INSIDE.

I'M THE SAME ON THE INSIDE.

I'M THE SAME ON THE

INSIDE."

ALMOST FOUR MONTHS AFTER

KATHRYN'S STROKE, WE MADE

THE DECISION TO MOVE TO CASA

KALINA.

WHICH IS A LONGER TERM

THERAPY CENTER.

THE THERAPISTS THERE SAT ME

DOWN AND SAID TO PREPARE

MYSELF FOR THE WORST-CASE

SCENARIO, WHICH FOR KATHRYN

IS SHE WOULD PROBABLY NEVER

EAT AGAIN.

EATING IS SO MUCH MORE

THAN JUST FOOD CONSUMPTION.

EATING IS LIFE.

EATING IS WHAT HUMANS DO;

IT'S HOW THEY SOCIALIZE.

WHEN YOU CAN'T EAT, IT IS

VERY, VERY ISOLATING BECAUSE

YOU'RE NO LONGER A

PARTICIPANT IN LIFE; YOU'RE

WATCHING LIFE.

SO JAY AND I RETURNED TO OUR

LITTLE HOUSE RIGHT OUTSIDE

OF THE REHAB.

AND MY IN-LAWS HAVE FLOWN

IN.

AND NOW I LOOKED UP, AND MY

THREE SISTER-IN-LAWS ARE

PLAYING WITH MY SONS.

AND I'M THINKING, GOD MADE A

MISTAKE.

I SHOULD HAVE DIED.

I CAN'T EAT.

I CAN'T WALK.

I CAN'T TAKE CARE OF MY

SON.

MY FACE IS MESSED UP.

I CAN'T HEAR.

I CAN'T SEE.

I CAN'T DO ANYTHING.

SURELY THIS IS NOT RIGHT.

THIS IS A MISTAKE.

AND BEFORE THAT THOUGHT

BEGAN TO FULLY LAND, I HAD

THIS MOMENT OF KATHRYN, ARE

YOU CRAZY?

I KNOW BETTER THAN YOU

KNOW.

I'M GOD.

YOU'RE NOT.

A.

AND, (B), I DON'T MAKE

MISTAKES.

THERE IS PURPOSE IN ALL OF

THIS.

JUST WAIT AND YOU'LL SEE.

AND AFTER A YEAR IN THAT

REHAB, I GOT TO LEAVE.

AND I HEALED TREMENDOUSLY.

BUT NOTHING IS PERFECT.

AND I DOUBT IT WILL EVER BE

PERFECT AGAIN, AND,

ACTUALLY, IT WAS NEVER

PERFECT BEFORE.

I GOT TO EAT ON MARCH 5th,

2009, AND IT WAS A GLORIOUS

DAY WHEN I COULD EAT.

AFTER 11 MONTHS OF NO FOOD.

I BEGAN TO WALK AGAIN

EXACTLY 18 MONTHS AFTER MY

BRAIN RUPTURE.

IN OCTOBER OF 2010, I WENT

IN FOR MY ROUTINE CHECKUP

WITH MY NEUROSURGEON, AND

THIS IS TWO AND A HALF YEARS

ALMOST AFTER THE RUPTURE OF

MY BRAINSTEM, AND HE HELD

BACK TEARS AS HE TOLD US

THAT I HAVE A SMALL ANEURYSM

BEHIND MY LEFT EYE.

I WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU

THAT I DON'T HANG OUT AT

THAT PLACE OF FEAR, OF

QUESTIONING WHAT MIGHT

HAPPEN.

I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING

PROFOUND ABOUT HOPE.

I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING

SO MEANINGFUL WHEN YOU CLING

TO SOMETHING BEYOND WHAT YOU

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND.

AND WHEN THAT'S IN THERE,

DEEP IN YOUR HEAD AND IN

YOUR HEART, AND YOU BELIEVE

IT WITH EVERY OUNCE OF YOUR

BODY, SOMETHING HAPPENS.

WHERWHEN UT IT HURTS THE

MOST, HOPE HEALS.