Donald “Frue” McAvoy and his fiancée, Rachel Leaptrott, were taking it easy on a Sunday in early December 2023, making a cheese board and turning on a football game.
After one bite, McAvoy began to choke. He couldn’t swallow or breathe.
Leaptrott leapt into action. She cleared his throat, but realized that McAvoy’s pupils were locked in place. He was talking, but couldn’t see anything. Leaptrott’s daughter called 911.
“It’s like trying to remember a dream. That’s the best way I can describe it,” McAvoy said. “I remember bits and pieces. I get chills, because I couldn’t see and that was extremely scary. But the scariest thing I ever felt, I didn’t know if I’d ever see again.”
McAvoy, 36, had recently been plagued by headaches, a sore neck and exhaustion. The active gym owner thought he had a strained neck and might be getting the flu.
Paramedics said McAvoy was having a neurological issue. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, made a terrifying diagnosis: He was having a severe stroke.
Frue McAvoy, Rachel Leaptrott and her daughter before his stroke. / Credit: Frue McAvoy
A “life-changing” stroke
Time is of the essence when treating a stroke. McAvoy was given a clot-busting medication and rushed into surgery.
Dr. Rabih Tawk, a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, performed a thrombectomy to remove the clot and found McAvoy had a vertebral artery dissection that caused the stroke and stopped blood flow to his brain and spine. His airway had collapsed, causing the choking. Strokes in someone as young as McAvoy are unusual, but not impossible, Tawk said.
McAvoy came through surgery, but doctors wouldn’t know the extent of the stroke’s effects until he woke up. Tawk said an assessment indicated it would be “life-changing.”
“They did scans of his brain, and they described the MRI as ‘fireworks,'” Leaptrott said. “When you do a scan like that, it shows up as a big white spot and a big hit in one area, whereas for Frue, it was like spurts and different areas were hit. It looked like a fire burst through the scan. I only saw that scan once, and it was enough.”
Frue McAvoy in the hospital. / Credit: Frue McAvoy
For seven days, McAvoy was on a ventilator. It was replaced with breathing and feeding tubes that let him begin therapy. Assessments found that all of his motor skills had been impacted. He would need to relearn how to stand, walk, write and speak. He couldn’t see clearly.
Through it all, Leaptrott had just one wish: A hug on Christmas Day.
“I’ve got to do this”
Leaptrott’s request gave McAvoy a goal to focus on. He kept it in mind amid therapy, “prodding and pulling” and complications, including two pulmonary embolisms. At first, it took the support of two people just to help him balance in bed, but he pushed himself to relearn how to stand, walk and raise his arms.
“I just remember whatever they asked of me, I knew I had to do it to move on to the next thing,” McAvoy said. “I was hooked up to every wire you can think of, but you just trust that all those wires and everything they’re doing is going to lead you to better health.”
On Christmas Eve, more than three weeks after the stroke, Leaptrott got her wish.
Frue McAvoy and Rachel Leaptrott holding hands in the early days after his stroke. / Credit: Frue McAvoy
“I just said, ‘OK, I’ve got to do this. If this is the last thing I ever do, I’m going to give it to her,'” McAvoy remembered.
After 24 days at the Mayo Clinic, McAvoy was transferred to Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital. When he arrived, he couldn’t stand for more than 10 seconds.
He was enrolled in “Brooks Boot Camp,” which meant working with therapists, nurses and doctors for at least three hours a day in an individualized program, said physical therapist Stephanie Cabret. He started with goals like increasing his stamina and dressing himself, and eventually progressed to more difficult tasks like preparing food, said occupational therapist Shantal Wright. He also underwent vocal therapy and saw an eye specialist.
McAvoy said he focused on staying positive. He asked for extra therapy time whenever possible. He also shared his story online: An Instagram account previously dedicated to fitness became a progress log. Hundreds followed his journey, and McAvoy was able to connect with stroke survivors from around the country.
“It’s a family I never knew I had or expected to have at this age,” McAvoy said. “It’s just amazing to see how far we’ve all come and are still going.”
Frue McAvoy completes a walk at Brooks Rehabilitation. / Credit: Frue McAvoy
“Incredibly, incredibly grateful”
McAvoy was discharged from Brooks Rehabilitation in late January. He could walk down a 200-foot hallway alone. He then had three months of outpatient care.
Nearly two years later, McAvoy still struggles with the stroke’s impact. He uses a walker with a seat so he can rest if he gets tired, and he wears glasses now. He struggles with depth perception and can’t drive. But he is back to the activities he loved, including athletics: Four months after the stroke, he took part in a one-mile challenge run. Hours before speaking with CBS News, he and Leaptrott walked the Swinging Mile at Grandfather Mountain, the highest suspension footbridge in the country.
Rachel Leaptrott, Frue McAvoy and Leaptrott’s daughter. / Credit: Frue McAvoy
McAvoy regularly visits Brooks Rehabilitation’s Neuro Recovery Center, where therapists developed a program he can do on his own. The program adjusts as he does, so he constantly has new milestones to strive for. He is also still in touch with his care team and maintains his social media presence.
“With everything going on, I never thought I would hear myself speak again. When you’re in that quiet for so long, you really start thinking about life and what matters and what doesn’t,” McAvoy said. “If I get upset about something or frustrated or angry, I remind myself there was a point in time I couldn’t even express that. I’m just incredibly, incredibly grateful for how my journey has gone.”
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