{"id":17758,"date":"2025-06-22T02:05:26","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T02:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=17758"},"modified":"2025-06-22T02:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T02:05:26","slug":"this-courageous-woman-says-experiencing-a-stroke-was-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=17758","title":{"rendered":"This Courageous Woman Says Experiencing a Stroke Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Her"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6 class=\"entry-subtitle g1-gamma g1-gamma-3rd\">At some point in life, everyone faces adversity. While many people fully recover, others face long, challenging journeys.<\/h6>\n<p>For 37-year-old mother of four, Riona Kelly, 2015 brought not just one but two devastating blows. One that left her physically\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/man-dies-8-years-after-a-dare-to-eat-a-slug-turns-fatal\/\">paralyzed<\/a>\u00a0and another that shattered her emotionally.<\/p><div class=\"gzbju69fee55ee0d25\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.gzbju69fee55ee0d25 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.gzbju69fee55ee0d25 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.gzbju69fee55ee0d25 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.gzbju69fee55ee0d25 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.gzbju69fee55ee0d25 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\">\n<div class=\"vsads\">\n<p>Riona suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed from the waist down. With doctors telling her she might never walk again. Yet, it wasn\u2019t this heartbreaking prognosis that broke her; it was the betrayal that came soon after.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-16\">\n<p>In an interview with The Mirror in 2017, Riona explained that she had been in a car accident 18 months earlier, which may have contributed to her spinal issues. But the real heartbreak came when her husband of 14 years, Richard, filed for divorce just five days after her stroke.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-17\">\n<p>Lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed with grief, Riona felt hopeless. She couldn\u2019t imagine how she would care for her four children or rebuild her life. \u201cAfter my husband left me in the hospital, my friend Sarah became my next of kin. It was her and the children who supported me during my recovery,\u201d Riona shared. \u201cLooking back, I realize I was miserable in my marriage, but we had built a life and responsibilities together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The road to recovery was long and grueling. Initially, even leaving the house in a wheelchair was unbearable for Riona. \u201cThe first time I went out in a wheelchair, I hated it. I hated myself. If someone had given me the option, I would have ended my life. I didn\u2019t want to live anymore,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n<p>Her recovery began to turn around when she met Keith Mason, a former rugby league player and athlete, who became her personal trainer during intensive rehabilitation. The two quickly formed a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/leaving-hollywood-for-her-superstar-love-bond-girl-barbara-bach-discovers-that-love-is-all-she-needs\/\">bond<\/a>\u00a0and started spending more time together. Keith became a source of support and inspiration, not just for Riona but for her children as well.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39524\" src=\"https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457.jpeg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1146px) 100vw, 1146px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457.jpeg 1146w, https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457-321x486.jpeg 321w, https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457-326x493.jpeg 326w, https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457-768x1162.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457-1015x1536.jpeg 1015w, https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/IMG_6457-732x1108.jpeg 732w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1146\" height=\"1734\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With Keith\u2019s encouragement and hours of physiotherapy, Riona regained some mobility, although she still relies on a wheelchair for long distances. Together, they achieved incredible milestones, including completing multiple marathons.<\/p>\n<p>Riona even began walking with the help of advanced technology\u2014a bionic frame with artificial intelligence, which enabled her to do things she never thought possible. Keith often shared updates about Riona\u2019s progress on social media, inspiring millions during the COVID-19 lockdowns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thought of us walking hand-in-hand around York for hours was unthinkable just months ago,\u201d Keith wrote on Twitter in 2022, sharing a video of Riona walking with her bionic legs.<\/p>\n<p>However, by 2023, it seems their relationship has changed. Keith stopped posting about Riona, and while he hasn\u2019t deleted their old photos, Riona appears to have deactivated her social media accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Although their\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/viralstrange.com\/they-laughed-at-their-love-but-their-journey-changed-the-world\/\">journey<\/a>\u00a0together may have ended, it remains a story of resilience and determination. We wish them both health and happiness as they move forward, knowing they\u2019ve inspired countless people with their incredible journey.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ob-widget-text\">You might also like<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h6 class=\"g1-meta g1-meta-m entry-meta entry-meta-m\"><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At some point in life, everyone faces adversity. While many people fully recover, others face long, challenging journeys. For 37-year-old mother of four, Riona Kelly, 2015 brought not just one but two devastating blows. One that left her physically\u00a0paralyzed\u00a0and another that shattered her emotionally. Riona suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed from the waist&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Courageous Woman Says Experiencing a Stroke Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Her - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=17758\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Courageous Woman Says Experiencing a Stroke Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Her - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At some point in life, everyone faces adversity. 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