Rodney Saito was living the dream. After landing a job at Warner Bros. in 1987, the Manoa Valley native took the leap and moved to Los Angeles, California. “I told myself I would stay for one year,” Rodney laughed, “but it turned out to be twenty!”
His lifestyle was thrilling. As an auditor and project manager, Rodney traveled all over the globe to check in on different Warner Bros. territories and affiliated companies. “During our travels we were constantly being entertained, having lavish dinners with rich foods,” Rodney shared. “I was just enjoying life and working my high activity, high pressure career.”
Everything was go-go-go until one morning in 2019, when a life altering stroke brought his world to a halt.
By this time I had moved back to Oahu. The stroke started after I attended my 40th high school reunion. It was a fun night, but when I woke up the next morning I had a hard time swallowing. I went to the mirror and saw that my mouth started to droop and thought, ‘this is really odd.’ But I didn't think much more about it and waited too long before going to the emergency room.
Rodney suffered an ischemic stroke in his cerebellum, affecting his vision and leaving him unable to walk and control his voice. “It all happened so quickly, a fun night of seeing high school classmates turned into a whole new life. I came away thinking, ‘why me?’ Strokes aren't supposed to happen to people under 60, but here I was.” When Rodney returned home from the hospital, he was unable to get dressed, take a shower or even use the restroom by himself. “My partner was very helpful and supportive of me, but it wasn’t any way to live. We were both overjoyed when we learned about REHAB, because before that I basically thought my life was over.”
Rodney came to REHAB soon after his stay at Queen’s Medical Center. During his two and a half weeks at REHAB, he worked with physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists to rebuild as much of his functionality as possible. “Thank God I came to REHAB,” Rodney said. “My experience was very positive and gave me a lot of hope. With all the therapists and my partner’s support, as well as the kindness of the entire staff, I had the motivation I needed to try to come back from the stroke.”
Rodney’s time at REHAB was an eye-opener, not just for learning to use his body again, but for important changes needed in his lifestyle going forward. “I learned I needed to change my diet–nowadays my diet consists of salads, fruits, veggies and fish. I also realized I needed to move more, to keep moving. So I took up swimming and I go to the gym. I attend REHAB’s Stroke Support Group because you have to take care of your mind, too.”
Rodney still experiences weakness on his right side and has visual impairments, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing a new passion: ceramics. “I enjoy creating abstract ceramic pieces. I love that time goes by so quickly when you're creating and doing something that you love. Some people have even expressed interest in buying my work!” he shared. And as for his old jet-setting lifestyle, Rodney still finds time to travel, but prioritizes R&R. “Every two years my partner and his family rent out a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's always a great time–just being all together and doing things together–that’s so important these days.”
It has been five years since Rodney’s stroke, and if there’s anything he’s learned on his recovery journey, it’s to never give up hope. For new stroke survivors he says, “Keep a good, positive and hopeful attitude, and participate in the programs that are available to you. The stroke community is a team, and though you may still have limitations, if you lean on the community and stay hopeful, things will get better."