There should never be an inspirational stroke story, it should be a common occurrence of 100% recovery from EXACT STROKE REHAB PROTOCOLS! But that won't occur until we remove all the dead wood in stroke and put survivors in charge.
Stroke Survivor Shares Inspirational Story
It was 10 years ago that Tim Niemann suffered a stroke. He lives now to help others.
Tim Niemann suffered a stroke in November of 2014. Niemann was so impressed and grateful for the care he received at Mercy Hospital that he went on to serve on the board for Mercy Health Foundation St. Louis. | photo by Ursula Ruhl
It was already an unusual day on Nov. 19, 2014, with tensions high as the public awaited a grand jury decision on whether to indict a Ferguson police officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.
Because of this unease, Kirkwood native Tim Niemann, a general partner at Edward Jones, was at home that Wednesday morning instead of traveling for work.
His wife, Debra Niemann, at home as well, and the two had a conversation before Tim Niemann left the house to return his rental car to the airport.
As he was leaving the house, Niemann tripped over the couple’s dog and fell. He instantly lost all feeling on the left side of his body, and lost his vision. His wife called 911 and within minutes paramedics arrived and transported Niemann to Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
“Fear didn’t really kick in until I got to the emergency room and watched him quickly deteriorate,” Debra Niemann said.
Within 30 minutes, doctors determined that Niemann, 44 years old at the time, had suffered a stroke. His carotid artery had been unknowingly cut during a recent chiropractic adjustment, causing the stroke(Wrong, a clot from that dissection let go and blocked an artery in the brain. Exactly what happened to me. If our stroke medical personnel can't explain this stuff properly to the media, they shouldn't be there!).
“With a stroke, every minute matters,” said Niemann, now 54. “The good news is they knew what caused it. I wasn’t a victim — I was a survivor.”
At the hospital, Niemann was given tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) which, when administered within three hours of stroke onset, works by dissolving blood clots that block blood flow to the brain, limiting the risk of damage and impairment. Within minutes of receiving tPA, Niemann’s vision returned and he regained feeling in the left side of his body.
But the drug isn’t available at all hospitals. In 2021, 65% of hospitals worldwide were unable to provide tPA to their patients, according to the World Stroke Organization.
Niemann was able to walk with assistance just three days after the stroke, and could walk on his own two days after that. He returned to work three months later in February of 2015.
Gratitude
Nearly 10 years later, Niemann has fully recovered from the stroke and works to give back to the community following the life-saving care he received.
Rather than feel angry or upset, Niemann said he feels lucky to be alive and uses this positive attitude to inspire and better the lives of others.
“I always had gratitude, but I have a lot more gratitude now,” said Niemann, who lives with his wife and the couple’s four children in Ladue, less than three miles from his childhood home on South Woodlawn in Kirkwood.
Debra Niemann shares her husband’s attitude of gratitude.
“Every day is precious because you never know what’s going to be thrown at you. Appreciate those boring, quiet days,” she said. “Tim listened to his doctors and never got depressed over the state he was in. He was just so happy that he was going to be OK, because it could have been so much worse.”
Both are grateful for the staff, medication and technology at Mercy Hospital.
“I’m so blessed that I happened to be at Mercy. The one really cool thing about the stroke was that I learned how lucky I was,” said Niemann, who attended De Smet Jesuit High School, then St. Louis University and later graduated from Boston College.
Service
Niemann’s positive experience at Mercy inspired him to join the board for Mercy Health Foundation St. Louis following his stroke. He served on the board from 2015 to 2021.
Mercy President and CEO Steve Mackin said he appreciates Tim Niemann’s service on the board.
“Tim was a tremendous leader on our foundation board and helped guide Mercy through his leadership in many ways,” Mackin said. “He was very willing to share his personal journey with other board members and prospective donors.”
John Mozeliak, former board president and current St. Louis Cardinal’s President of Baseball Operations, echoed that sentiment.
“Tim was inspirational. He focused on something that was personal to him, and his determination was impressive,” Mozeliak said. “Tim’s connection with Mercy will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
In addition to Niemann’s time on the board for Mercy Health Foundation St. Louis, he and his wife helped Mercy Hospital raise $250,000 for the Stroke Campaign, which allowed the hospital to hire two more nurses with specialized training required to quickly help stroke patients.
“We wanted to figure out what we had to do to recreate the experience I had so everybody is as lucky as me,” Niemann said.
Hoping to inspire others, Niemann has spoken at four Stroke Symposiums, an annual event where larger hospitals in St. Louis meet to share best practices.
“I try to make the ordinary feel extraordinary for people,” he said. “If a person I know has a stroke, I want to help them be mentally tough and get through it.”
While Niemann has no lingering physical issues from the stroke, it left him with a heightened sense of fear and uncertainty.
“Something will happen and I am not sure if it is due to the stroke, or just getting older,” he said.
Jason Selk, former director of sport psychology for the St. Louis Cardinals, has helped Niemann work through his feelings of unease.
“He told me what he tells professional athletes: ‘If the doctor says you’re good, you’re good,’” Selk said.
Giving & Inspiring Others
After retiring from Edward Jones in 2019 after 31 years with the firm, Niemann now seeks to make a difference in the community by giving time and resources to organizations he supports.
One organization Tim and Debra Niemann are passionate about is the June Jessee Memorial Foundation, which provides relief and support to help children with medically complex neurological conditions. The couple hopes to help open a respite home in St. Louis through the foundation within the next 15 to 20 years.
Niemann also serves on the board of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, which strives to create permanency in the lives of children by finding foster and adoptive families in the St. Louis area.
“My wife and I don’t go to bed at night without thinking about trying to find forever homes for these kids,” he said.
Since his stroke, Niemann’s outlook on life has changed to one that is more focused on helping and listening to others. He views his stroke as the turning point in which he realized the importance of letting people tell their stories, and how lucky he is to be able to hear them.
“My mission is to inspire people to give,” said Niemann. “We all have time, talent or treasure to give.”
Anna Kuschel, a student at Concordia University Chicago, is a summer intern with the Webster-Kirkwood Times.
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