An Unlikely Stroke Victim

 SIX-TIME IRONMAN A STROKE VICTIM

FEBRUARY 24, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Dr. David P. Justus, an educator with Aurora Public Schools, Aurora, Colorado, suffered three strokes in five days due to a neck injury.

 

David is an accomplished athlete in numerous sports but is mainly known as an accomplished six-time Ironman age group athlete. He is also a cyclist, runner, and swimmer in individual events. He is an accomplished rock and mountain climber in his twenties and thirties, an accomplished white-water kayaker, and belts in two martial arts.

He is highly regarded, committed, and relentless in his education career. He finished his doctorate and graduated from the University of Colorado in December of 2022; and he previously completed his master's degree from UCD in 2013. He moved back to the Aurora Public Schools district after helping to restart a rural secondary school that had closed for over a decade in Agate, Colorado. 

 

“I felt a calling and wanted to return to a large, diverse school district where the students and the school needed someone to help. It has been tough, but eventually, I cultivated relationships with my students. I truly miss them and my colleagues,” David discussed, obviously saddened by the loss.

 

 

 

David said, “I suffered a cervical artery dissection that occurs in the vertebral artery from a neck injury;” however, “how and why are still not known, but my left artery ruptured, causing a large cerebellum stroke.” 

 

Doctors say these types of strokes are generally caused by car accident whiplash, aggressive chiropractic neck adjustments, self-adjustments, or other related neck injuries. “With David’s injury, it is a bit of a mystery. His heart is in great health with no history of blood clotting. He said he has not had any catastrophic injuries recently. His right vertebral has some narrowing, so it may be a series of neck injuries over time,” the hospitalist doctor reported.

 

“I was sent home in two days, the first time treated for a regular cardiac stroke. Within four days, I suffered two more strokes. The doctors needed to form a team and decide how to treat my outlier strokes. Currently, at home, I am in the initial phase of recovery and observation.”

 

“David’s stroke did not manifest any of the symptoms of a stroke. On the surface level, he seems fine; however, working with David, he is reporting more effects of a stroke, such as difficulties in walking with balance and coordination to perform tasks related to walking.

 

Moreover, "he has reported indicators such as working for prolonged periods on his coin collection reports, etc., working on electronic devices, some artificial light sensitivity and long discussions cause him to have symptoms. He reports dizziness, nausea, and exhaustion,” he discussed with a hospitalist doctor in his case.

 

David talked about his illness and recovery as “still very early in the process of dealing with his traumatic event. The impacts of three strokes are just now manifesting themselves.” 

 

“The reality of a long-term recovery is very daunting. I have always been very active in my career(s), sports, and with my family. The thought of being idle petrifies me. However, the thought of another stroke and a low percentage of surviving it is even more daunting.”

David said he would like to help create awareness of non-cardiac strokes for active people, people at risk because of repeated injuries to their head and necks, especially active people who use chiropractors and self-adjust their necks. 

 

“Both Stroke Foundations have cycling events that are indoor and outdoor events. If I can create awareness for non-cardiac strokes through a sport I love during recovery and after, I am all in; being an educator has taught me that making a difference in someone’s life is the most rewarding thing you can do in your life. Plus, serving others helps you not focus on your own problems or trials.”

 

David mentioned that he cannot ride his indoor cycling trainer/trainer because of the strain it puts on his neck. “I’ll need to source a training bike to sit upright. Right now, for me, I need to take one day at a time, but I am committed to the cause of a stroke awareness that is largely unknown.”

 

Written from case files, interviews, written by a third party, and edited under the Copyright © 2024 of & by David P. Justus, Ed.D.