> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Stroke survivor powers toward education - URL: https://www.smdp.com/stroke-survivor-powers-toward-education/ - Published: 2008-09-01T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T20:54:27.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: local, Westwood, #archive-import *Local student forms stroke survivor group* WESTWOOD David Bellamy scanned the room in disbelief. To the right sat a man in his 50s, the left another in his 80s, talking about sore backs, medications and the ails that come with being a member of the senior population. It was all unrelatable to the youngest member of a stroke survivors’ support group, especially to someone who suffered one at the age of 26. “I thought there has to be young people who have had a stroke,” he said. The meeting at the UCLA Medical Center in 2007 would be Bellamy’s first and last as he set out to form a support group that would cater to those who had unexpectedly experienced a stroke in their prime. It came just a few months later at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center where with the help of Terri Lukomski, a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, Bellamy was able to launch the “One Stroke Ahead: Young Person’s Stroke Support Group” in September. Bellamy, who is studying pharmacy at Santa Monica College, clearly remembers the day when doctors told him he had a stroke. What he doesn’t recall is experiencing the stroke itself. The event happened in 2006 when Bellamy underwent a specialized brain test at UCLA Medical Center to locate the cause of an inordinate amount of epileptic seizures. The Brentwood resident has had epilepsy his entire life and claims to have tried virtually every medication available on the market to treat the neurological disorder. The problem worsened during Bellamy’s final semester at California State University Northridge where he was studying video production. “You get this feeling coming over you, like an intensification of a sense,” he said in describing a seizure. “It’s this nauseating feeling that was pretty strong, like being on a roller coaster and not feeling well afterward.” Rather than try another drug, he agreed to undergo the test at UCLA, which involved a seizure study and later admittance to the hospital where he underwent a brain scan, which recorded three seizures. Sometime during the tests, Bellamy suffered a stroke, leaving him with left-sided weakness. Bellamy said he didn’t even know he was experiencing one. “It just felt like another moment,”he said. Bellamy, who had just started a temp job at Fox Sports the day before the stroke, spent months in recovery, doing physical therapy and trying to get back on his feet. Another temp job at Fox Sports came but he was let go after the first day. He eventually landed a job at the Trader Joe’s in West Hollywood, later transferring to the Santa Monica store where he still works. Bellamy began seeking a support group last year to find an outlet for his experience, adding that a stroke can be an isolating experience. “This is an important part of recovery and it’s very helpful and important to see other survivors and know that you’re not alone,” he said. “During my recovery, I was only with my family and they’re very encouraging, but it’s very important to see others that have … gone through the same journey that you’re going through.” A stroke can especially be an isolating experience when it happens early in life. While strokes in young adults are still considered rare, there has been an increases in the past decade, Lukomski said. The group at Cedars-Sinai meets on the third Thursday of every month and gets anywhere from two to six people per gathering, the age of its members going up to 55 years old. The members talk about their own recovery process and share ideas with each other. Some meetings include presentations by educational speakers. Young stroke survivors have issues that are specific to their own age range, Lukomski said. “They’re just starting their career and trying to establish themselves in the world or in school,” she said.“There’s a lot of things that are unique to younger people that are now slowed down and makes it that much more difficult to just develop.” The number of seizures have slowed down since the stroke. Some days are good, others are worse, Bellamy said, noting that he can experience up to three partial seizures on a bad day. Bellamy has left the video production world behind and wants to become a pharmacist, figuring he has some expertise since he has taken medication his whole life. “The stroke changed my life,” he said. “It dramatically gave me a greater perspective about things.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 1, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)