On the night of March 6, 2021, Chris Wilder, executive director of the Valley Medical Center Foundation, and his wife, Kate, played a trivia game with friends over Zoom. When it was over, Chris got up to get a drink.
His life has not been the same since.
Upon Chris’ return, Kate noticed that the right side of his face appeared “slumped” and when he spoke, his words didn’t make sense.
“Oh my God, he’s having a stroke,” Kate recalled thinking.
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Within a minute, she was on the phone to 911. Her quick action likely saved Chris’ life.
"I don't think I can take credit for that,” Kate said, going on to praise EMTs, nurses and doctors for the real life-saving. “But I do believe because the blood clot was in the main artery to the dominant part of his brain every second counted."
Kate doesn’t recall when or from whom she learned the signs of a stroke, but both she and Chris are hoping now to inspire more people to educate themselves. While still working tirelessly on rehabilitation, Chris has joined the board of the Stroke Awareness Foundation, a group with the goal of saving lives and improving the outcome for stroke victims.
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His nonprofit work, however, is just a part-time job. Chris’ full-time endeavor is focusing on this recovery.
“I'm going to work as hard as I can to regain as much functionality as I possibly can,” Chris said.
Chris’ progress so far has been remarkable. Not long after his stroke, swelling of his brain forced doctors to remove part of it. Kate was warned that Chris would likely not be able to walk, talk or understand what others were saying. He has defied all those predictions so far and hopes to do even more. Chris’ long-term goals include being able to once again play guitar (he was a regular presence on the South Bay music scene) as well as golf (he’s a 13 handicap).
Chris had to resign from his position with the VMC Foundation, one he held for close to 20 years. During his tenure, he helped to raise tens of millions of dollars to improve health care in Silicon Valley. Such a powerful position may be in the past for Chris, but it doesn’t mean he can’t still help others. He plans to do that by raising awareness to the danger that stroke presents.
“The first thing I want people to know is that you really need to know the signs of a stroke so that if this happens to you or someone you love you can be there for them or for yourself, to help make sure that you get to a stroke-certified hospital as quickly as possible," he said. "That's why I'm here today.”
