Stroke Camp: Tranicia's Story

Tranicia Hankins is an 18-year Army veteran who is medically retired. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, she moved to Indiana after her last deployment to Kuwait. While on vacation, Hankins suffered a stroke in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

“I woke up one morning and I was getting dressed, just going to the bathroom like I normally do," Hankins said. “As I was walking, my legs stopped working, then I sat down. Then my arm stopped working and all of a sudden, I just couldn't sit up anymore.”

When the ambulance arrived, Hankins was found lying down.

“I didn't know what was going on at that point," she said. "I was 35, and of course I was still in the military, so at that point I was super healthy. To have a stroke, it's not something that was expected. I just wouldn't wish it on anybody.”

In the early years of her stroke, Hankins was searching for support. One of the support groups she found was at Franciscan Health.

“It gave me the community and the family that I needed to tell me about what was happening to me,” Hankins said. “One of the things that they brought up was Stroke Camp, and that's how I first heard about it, and I've been going ever since.”

Franciscan Health has hosted a Stroke Camp in Indiana for more than 20 years. The weekend camp is designed specifically for stroke survivors and caregivers in a comfortable and informal setting that focuses on stroke education, relaxation, crafts, games, socialization, discussion, pampering and entertainment. Hankins now facilitates a support group for women survivors of brain injury, each stroke camp.

“I feel like I learned something different about myself and about the people around me,” she said. “Franciscan Stroke Camp is a place that allowed me to be comfortable traveling to because I knew that I would be taken care of.”

Hankins describes it as a place where volunteers are always ready to help.

“Even in the shower, they brought shower chairs. There were accessible rooms. Everything was available to me, and everything was accessible,” she said. “That made me feel comfortable going to Stroke Camp.”

“I would tell a survivor or a caregiver that would like to attend Stroke Camp: It's good to give each other a break and just get off my chest to things that we are experiencing so that we can go home, still have a good relationship, and maybe have a better understanding of each other and the process that we're going through,” Hankins said. “I think that is beneficial for anybody that wants to go to Stroke Camp.”

Hankins described it as one of the greatest things for her.

“Every year I feel like maybe I've outgrown Stroke Camp, and I go and I learn something new and I come back with new ideas,” she said. "I'm just so grateful that there's someone behind the scenes that is willing to give us that space, to be able to have those things, to be able to create those relationships and have that community so that I feel like I belong somewhere. My expectation for this program is that it continues to grow, that it continues to get new survivors, that it pulls more people in, that our community just gets bigger and bigger every year. And I would like to thank Franciscan Health for continuing to sponsor it.”

For inquiries about stroke camp, please email: Laura.Williams2@FranciscanAlliance.org.

Register here for stroke camp. Space is limited.

Stroke camp is made possible by the work of the Franciscan Health Stroke Center, the Franciscan Health Foundation, Franciscan Rehabilitation Services, as well as sponsorship from Uplift Johnson County and Medtronic.