{"id":12143,"date":"2017-09-25T08:51:37","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T14:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=12143"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:32:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T19:32:40","slug":"after-a-stroke-he-walked-4300-miles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/after-a-stroke-he-walked-4300-miles\/","title":{"rendered":"4,300 miles after a stroke"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Roger Jorgensen walks through his Wellington neighborhood, counting his steps. It may have taken him seven years after his stroke to find his determination to get better, but it started with one step out his front door and now, three years later, he\u0092s traveled more than 4,300 miles and seen significant cognitive improvement. Photo by Kati Blocker, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roger Jorgensen has logged more than 4,300 miles of walking in the past three years \u2014 an impressive feat considering the left side of his body struggles to move.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf God healed me today, I\u2019d run the next 500,\u201d he said as he made his way through a small crowd of supporters who gathered at a symbolic finish line set up by his Life After Stroke support group leader, Christy Dittmar.<\/p>\n

\"Roger
Roger Jorgensen walks through a symbolic finish line, cheered on by fellow Life After Stroke support group members, before the start of a meeting recently. Jorgensen\u0092s determination — and the sheer number of miles he\u0092s walked in the past three years — is an inspiration and motivator to other members of the group, said leader Christy Dittmar (far left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cRoger\u2019s story is symbolic of what people experience if they take that step to move forward after a stroke,\u201d Dittmar said. \u201cHis goal was about walking, and he\u2019s taken that on. \u2026 He was in a wheelchair and would still be had he not started that process one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not one of Jorgensen\u2019s steps came easily or quickly, but he never gave up, no matter how much time passed.<\/p>\n

His inspirational stroke story<\/h3>\n

Nine years ago, Jorgensen was a 51-year-old, hardworking and successful businessman living in Wellington and traveling all over the western United States as a district manager of a commercial roofing company. A Type-A personality, he was a go-getter, both in his career and personal life.<\/p>\n

\"Roger
Roger Jorgensen, who had a stroke in 2008, has logged more than 4,300 miles and seen significant cognitive improvement since he started walking three years ago. Photo by Kati Blocker, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But on Nov. 30, 2008, that man died in the basement of his home \u2014 at least that\u2019s how his high-school sweetheart wife, Susan, tells the story. And he didn\u2019t return for almost seven years.<\/p>\n

On that cold November morning, Jorgensen had gone downstairs around 7 a.m. to do his regular powerlifting workout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had woken up that day with a bad headache,\u201d Jorgensen recalled. \u201cIt was Sunday, and I went down to do a quick workout in the basement because I had to leave town Monday. I was just warming up my arms and then down I went. My glasses fell off my nose, and I went to move them up, but I couldn\u2019t move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing the fall, Susan rushed downstairs to see her husband flat on his face. She went to roll him over. \u201cThen I saw his face,\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n

Identifying the signs of a stroke<\/a> is important so immediate action can be taken to minimize its effects, said Dr. Gerald McIntosh, UCHealth\u2019s stroke program medical director in northern Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Think FAST: F<\/strong>ace drooping, A<\/strong>rm weakness, S<\/strong>peech difficulty and T<\/strong>ime to call 911.

\n

Recognizing the symptoms of a stroke by remembering FAST is important, but so is stroke prevention<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking back<\/h3>\n

Jorgensen said he should have listened to his body. At 30 years old, he struggled with chronic fatigue, and as he aged, he never slept well and later was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. He had a family history of high blood pressure, and just about a month before his stroke, he found himself out of breath more often during mild activity. In four different incidents, his family held interventions for him because they felt he was working too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI blew it all off,\u201d Jorgensen said. \u201cAll that was telling me to slow down, and I blew it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are other simple steps to preventing a stroke:<\/p>\n