TOriginally posted on Wesh 2 News on Jun 25, 2026: https://www.wesh.com/article/stroke-survivor-helps-patients-adventhealth/71723696
Maxcette Mark experienced a life-changing moment when she found herself alone in her apartment with an excruciating headache and no control of her arms.
“I called my mom and said, ‘Mom, my head,'” Mark said.
She described the fear she felt as she scooted outside, crying and yelling for help.
“Somebody help me please, I’m dying, somebody help me please,” she recalled saying. “The last thing I remember was my neighbor coming down the stairs.”
Mark woke up at AdventHealth to the news that she had suffered a stroke. She began rehabilitation, and that is when Leslie Miller entered her life.
“She came in, and I was like … who is this lady? But she looked like she came to do something,” Mark said.
Miller shared her story with Mark, recounting how her health took a sudden turn while she was playing a board game with her family.
“It felt like a sore going up the back of my neck into my brain. It was the worst headache you could ever imagine,” Miller said.
She was airlifted to AdventHealth, where she underwent brain surgery.
My aneurysm was quite far in the back of my brain,” Miller said.
Her recovery was challenging, compounded by bouts of depression.
“I was now Leslie 2.0, and I was different, and I was trying to deal with that. And that was really hard,” she said.
Miller found her path to healing through giving back. As part of a peer support program at AdventHealth, Miller meets with patients who are suddenly thrust into a new reality.
“We try to give them the survivors’ perspective and resources we wish we had,” Miller said.
Her emotional support comes in many forms. One of her recent patients was a man who plays Santa Claus during the holidays.
“So, I met with him, and he couldn’t talk after his brain injury,” Miller said. “His biggest concern was that he couldn’t go out there and make smiles for the children during Christmas.”
Miller helped him spread Christmas cheer for hospital staff. “He got all dressed up, and when he was out there, he was able to get out a ‘ho, ho, ho!'” she said.
Miller brings joy and motivation to those she meets.
Miller ensures patients do not walk their recovery paths alone. Her work inspires healing and hope, making her a WESH 2 community champion.
Read Leslie’s Share Your Story Blog Here!
Read Leslie’s Share Your Story about Turning Pain Into Purpose Here!
