As I stood testifying at the Massachusetts State house last spring in front of the Joint Committee on Health and Public Service to help influence improvements in the system of care for stroke survivors, I had this powerful sense that this was exactly where I was meant to be. This felt like my purpose in life and I realized then, that maybe my stroke wasn’t just this horrible thing that happened to me, but maybe a gift. I began to look at my situation differently.  What initially had felt like an obstacle, I could see now as an opportunity. I realized I was lucky to have experienced and recovered from a stroke, and now can share that experience to help others. More importantly, I had realized that my stroke had set me back on a life path I thought was gone.