She suffered a stroke at 26. A talent show in Wayne will help her cause
WAYNE — René Testa Adams was not too long removed from her days as an all-county athlete when the inexplicable happened to her on a softball diamond.
She was coaching runners at third base, and at the end of an inning, she began to make her way to the dugout. In front of her players, the opposing team and everyone seated in the bleachers, her knees buckled and she collapsed to the infield dirt.
She was 26 years old, and she had just had a stroke.
Now 59, she said what occurred to her on that day in April 1989 is easier to accept.
"Strokes don't just happen to your grandparents," said Testa Adams, of Hawthorne, who has spent years trying to dispel myths about the brain condition.
Testa Adams and her friend, Diane Bromberg-Stern, are co-hosting a talent show at the Wayne YMCA to raise awareness about stroke and its symptoms, especially aphasia, a disorder that affects a person's ability to speak.
The event will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Rosen Performing Arts Center at the Y, at 1 Pike Drive. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for complimentary dessert.
Bromberg-Stern runs a networking group for health care professionals who specialize in services for senior citizens. It meets at the Y.
"I love to use the word, 'win-win,' because it is a win-win for René and for the people in my group," said Bromberg-Stern, of Wayne.
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The event will feature about a dozen volunteer groups and solo artists, including a doo-wop ensemble, a reggae guitarist and a standup comedian. Nate Moran, an actor and formerly a homeless veteran, will perform a mime. Testa Adams is also scheduled to sing.
The talent show is free, but donations will be collected for RenéMarie Language of Love Foundation Inc., a charity that Testa Adams established for her cause eight years ago.
Testa Adams said she was inspired to form the charity by one of her childhood heroes: the late Jerry Lewis. And like the pop icon, she has a telethon each year.
"I used to just glue myself to the TV," she said about her profound interest in the Labor Day weekend benefits, which collected hundreds of millions of dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
"I just love the concept of enlightening people and bringing music into their lives," Testa Adams said. But Lewis, she added, had a greater purpose behind it.
She said her goal is to assist people who do not have the wherewithal to pay for additional rehabilitation after medical insurance coverage has lapsed.
Money should not the "determining factor" in a person's ability to recover from a stroke, Testa Adams said.
"You should get all of the help you can get, and money should be secondary," she said. "But in life, that's not the way it works. We have big dreams — we really want to make an impact in the world."
And the need for more support is dire, statistics suggest.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds — and someone dies from one every 3½ minutes.
A stroke happens when a clot blocks the flow of blood to a part of the brain, or when a blood vessel bursts in the brain.
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Stroke risk goes up as people get older, but the CDC cautions that it can occur to those of any age, even newborns. Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are the leading causes.
Testa Adams admits that she may have missed the warning signs.
"We had no idea — we wouldn't have known," she said. "We wouldn't have known what they were."
Testa Adams said she still feels residual symptoms, including weakness on the right side of her body. However, she looks to her "wonderful journey" for all of the good things that it has introduced to her life, like the annual telethon and her "Stroke of Luck" webcast.
"Back then, we were just happy that I wasn't dead," she said. "It's who I am now. I just am who I am."
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ YMCA talent show to benefit for stroke survivor's nonprofit
