Deb Shaw was at the top of her career, selling cybersecurity technical products to government customers for a silicon valley powerhouse. Things were going great. Then she had a stroke. And then she had another stroke. And then she had a third stroke, paired with a concussion. Since then, she started a nonprofit with her husband and has produced more than 10 booklets for stroke survivors to help them navigate their new lives. Recently, the American Heart Association named Deb their latest Survivor Hero. Deb shares her journey in this conversation. If you don't see the audio player below, visit http://Strokecast.com/deb to listen to the conversation.   Click here for a machine-generated transcript About Deb Shaw Deb Shaw is an inspirational three-time ischemic stroke survivor and the Founder & President of a nonprofit who remains steadfastly upbeat, despite her ongoing difficulties. Deb channeled her energy into creating “Champion the Challenges,” a nonprofit organization that helps motivate stroke survivors to pursue her three P’s of a successful recovery: Patience, Positivity, and Practice. Be patient in everything, have a positive outlook, and practice your exercises every day. Deb founded and launched ChampiontheChallenges.org, a rapidly growing 501c3 focused on helping stroke survivors reimagine their stroke rehabilitation journey.  The website is filled with inspirational content, therapy ideas, and success stories all designed to encourage.  Deb has written 11 Quick Read Booklets ™ that are geared to inspire and educate the stroke community. The booklets are available on-line as flipbooks, or in print editions, all compliments of Deb. “Champion the Challenges” was started during Covid because she wanted to share the inspiration, motivation, technology, and helpful stroke ideas, all in one website. This is her way to give hope to many people needing to discover their inner strength. 3Ps Deb's approach to recovery is based on the three Ps: Patience Positivity Practice Patience with yourself is critical. While we are all trying to recover, it doesn't always happen as quickly as we would like. Sometimes we can't do things yet that we feel like we ought to be able to do. That's okay. It happens. Getting angry and frustrated with ourselves may be natural in the moment, but ultimately is not helpful. We need to be patient with our brains and our bodies to give them the space they need to heal and to relearn our lives. Positivity helps us get through the day. Negative feelings are natural and okay in the moment, and long term they can become a problem. Living in and dwelling in the negative is not going to get us where we need to be. A positive attitude and approach to our tasks and lives may not guarantee success, but I have never heard of someone succeeding while dwelling in a cloud of negativity. Practice is the other key element. A positive attitude may make recovery a possibility, but it's practice that can turn that possibility into actual success. Neuroplasticity is a powerful force in recovery, and building those new neural pathways requires thousands of repetitions of activities. It takes practice and then more practice. 2022 Stroke Hero Awards: Survivor Hero – Deb Shaw https://youtu.be/T7n4qx1JR-g Llamas and Alpacas For my Girlfriend's birthday, we went to Topstall Farm to visit play with llamas and alpacas. It's a short 1.5-2 hour drive from Seattle. The person who runs the farms limits groups to 6 people so we get a personal experience. She told us all about the critters and explained how they care for them.   Then we got up close and personal. We walked into the paddock and got to feed them by hand. One thing that amazed me was how soft the alpacas lips were as they took the pellets right from my palm. They were aggressi