Medwatch: Woman receives courage award following stroke

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Learning how to walk and talk again can be a challenge after a stroke, but one Lawton woman is sharing her journey and encouraging others while finding herself again. June 7th of 2023 is a date Beth Pottle is always going to remember because that's the day she had a stroke.

"It was a hemorrhagic stroke. A brain bleed that just did all the damage," Pottle said. "There's always the thinking that you're never going to bounce back from this. I never thought I'd get my face back. I never thought I'd smile again."

Pottle said her health issues began 18 years ago when she developed preeclampsia while pregnant. She said her doctor told her all her symptoms would go away after having her kid, but her high blood pressure never went away.

"My body just seemed to reject all the medications, and it finally I was like a pressure cooker, and I just went off," she said.

Pottle went to Comanche County Memorial Hospital, but due to the type of stroke, she had to go to a hospital in Oklahoma City. Once she was released she went through both in-patient and outpatient therapy at CCMH.

"It's hard, but I try to remain positive and do what I gotta do to go through life and have some sort of normalcy," Pottle said.

Pottle once worked at CCMH in the cafeteria and housekeeping, so she knew a lot of the people taking care of her.

"So, their push for me to be better helped me out a lot with my positivity, and our speech therapist, the group of them, fantastic," she said. "All of the therapists are fantastic here."

The Physical Rehabilitation Center of Southwest Oklahoma recently awarded Pottle with the Courage Award.

"Courage could be Beth's middle name," said Jennifer Ninman, a physical therapist at CCMH. "She was so fantastic. She would be scared, she would be nervous, and she would do it anyway. She trusted the therapist, she trusted the nursing staff, she trusted the process, and then she was an encouragement to others, which is a big part of that. To be able to overcome your own fears and then encourage others is a huge thing in rehab."

Tammy Palmer, an Occupational therapist at CCMH, also believed she deserved the award.

"Beth always had an encouraging word for other patients who attended therapy at the same time as she did and often pointed out to them their improvements that she noticed," Palmer said.

Pottle said hearing what they had to say about her and her time in in-patient therapy made her heart full.

"I honestly don't have words for it," Pottle said. "I was so happy and just felt how much love their words had in them and knowing that they saw that in me, and it affected them in a way for me to get this. I appreciate all of their words."

She also helped start a stroke support group for fellow survivors and encourages them to lean on others for support if you need it. She said if you don't have anyone supporting you, call the rehab center or even reach out to her on Facebook.