Courtesy Photo | (Photo courtesy Prudence Pingrey) Spc. Prudence Pingrey graduated from the Defense...... read more read more
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FALLS CHURCH, Va.- In a cruel twist of fate, 22-year-old Army Cryptological Linguist, Spc. Prudence Pingrey, who was about to embark on the most exciting chapter of her life, had a stroke. “I had just finished DLI (Defense Language Institute), and I graduated from the Korean program. Basically, I was waiting for a spot to open for me in my next unit, which I was going to go to. I took a couple of days of leave to go to LA with my husband before I had to be transferred to Texas, as I was going to be there for a long time,” said the active-duty Soldier. Her enthusiasm for joining the Army started very early and she joined when she was seventeen.
Oct 30, 2022, is a day she initially couldn’t remember but one that she now will never forget. It was the day the stroke happened. “I couldn't speak, talk, walk, or do anything at all. Basically, I was unconscious, except I was drooling. My brain was basically acting dead, and I couldn't even think any thoughts,” she said.
When her husband got out of the shower that morning, he found Pingrey in a lifeless state and immediately called 9-11. “I went to CHOP (Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula), a medical hospital in Monterey, and they administered TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator medicine); however, it didn't work,” said Pingrey.
She was transferred to Stanford Medical Center, where they discovered she had a large blood clot on the left side of her brain. “I was in surgery for about six hours and spent about six days in the hospital,” said Pingrey.
Now the process would begin, to regain her ability to move, to do things on her own, and especially to talk. Imagine a Soldier whose great purpose in the Army is to use and decipher words of a foreign language now finds speaking her own language as foreign as it gets. Words mean everything to her. “Initially, it was highly frustrating. I still mispronounce a word or sometimes it doesn't sound exactly right, but you just have to keep trying to improve, right?!”
She also wondered what would happen to her going forward, as her entire world had been turned upside down in a moment. Then, she was told about the Army Recovery Care Program and the Soldier Recovery Unit. “I had no idea what that was.,” she said with a chuckle.
She arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord SRU in January 2023. Adaptive reconditioning events quickly helped in her recovery where she tried everything from rowing in the gym to hitting the slopes. “I'd never been skiing before, and I knew I was going to be terrible, but I took that opportunity at the SRU, and it was fun for me to do that. I especially enjoyed being with others who have similar injuries and illnesses. I learned a new type of therapy, and it also made my body stronger,” said Pingrey.
Pingrey is preparing to return to civilian life by taking advantage of the career and education opportunities JBLM offers to carve her a new path in the workforce. She still has days of doubt but stresses the importance of never giving up. “I'm currently studying for the GRE, and it's rough. There are days I do want to give up because half the test is math-related, so it's just a bunch of numbers that I don't understand because of my stroke, but I’m trying. I want to give up every day, but then I think about my future and then I want to work hard every day to achieve it. I’ll do it!”
Her goal is to enter politics. “I've loved politics since I was little. This was the dream before the stroke. But then after it happened, I thought I couldn't do that if I couldn't speak, so I had to make the best out of it. I just had to get up, get working, and get back to where I was before the stroke.”
She is making tremendous progress. Ever thankful for the opportunity to utilize the programs afforded to her at the JBLM SRU, Pingrey is also appreciative of the confidence boost she received from those who helped her in her recovery. “Early on with the stroke, it was in my brain that I'm never gonna become a politician if I can't put words together correctly, but now I'm looking at politicians who have a disability. I'm thinking that maybe I can do it! I am getting better!”
The Soldier Recovery Unit helps eligible Soldiers with complex wounds, illnesses or injuries to recover and return to the fighting force or to transition to veteran status with dignity and respect.
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2025 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 494490 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Finding the right words in recovery, by MaryTherese Griffin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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