Rising Tide with Alana Yorke
18 March
7:30 - 9:30PM
Special Guest Talia Schlanger
Tickets $11.98
A stroke at age 41 changed Alana Yorke's life.
HER STORY
On the morning of November 9, 2022, Alana Yorke's left arm would not work.
"My arm was just swinging around freely and I wasn't able to control it. That's when I knew something wasn't right."
Then a headache set in –- so severe she asked her husband, Ian Bent, to help with their 2-year-old son –- and she called 811.
A CT scan at the hospital revealed Yorke, 41, was having a stroke.
In 2015, Alana Yorke was deep into an intense multi-year PhD in science when she had a harrowing experience during a sample-gathering scuba expedition. She ran out of air, which would lead to a decade-long battle with PTSD. She left her science program, and a superbly and commercially successful album was created.
"I quit my PhD in science to pursue my career in music, my life-long passion, because I learned that life is short."
Return to 2022, and she is recovering from a stroke in a Halifax hospital. She learned something completely unexpected – her mood changed entirely. Some stroke survivors experience hypomania; not a manic state, but it may result in increased energy and racing thoughts, and mood may change.
"I was on fire, completely free of depression, any PTSD, any weight. I was just a blank slate. There was nothing negative at all," she said. (Atlantic Voice, CBC - March 5, 2023).
Yorke was able to plan the release of long-awaited music, created the artwork and design, and she was able to find out that she could play again. Finding a piano at the hospital, she played a few chords and started crying on the piano bench.
Alana Yorke is still recovering slowly. She still fatigues easily, but with the help of exercise and occupational therapy she has regained control of her left side. The stroke was a result of malformed blood vessels in her brain. It is possible there may be more strokes in Yorke's future.
The clarity and creativity she experienced in the hospital has faded, but the feelings have not. Her triumphant return to the stage on March 18 will be transformative for everyone.
She has told us to bring tissues.
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