Apr 30, 2026 | Your Health
Author David Schwab, left, and his tennis partner James
My friend recently had a stroke while we were playing tennis and didn’t know it.
This may seem hard to believe. But it was confirmed after a visit to the Emergency Room, hours after we had stopped running around the court and smashing tennis balls.
James, 62, is one of the fittest guys I know and one of the most intense competitors on the tennis court. Thanks to medical professionals, he is fine now. After spending three days in the hospital, where he was treated for a stroke and prescribed a blood thinner, he doesn’t have any lasting effects. Doctors are trying to figure out whether this might have been related to a pre-existing condition.
But the lesson is clear: Don’t ignore symptoms, and call 911 immediately if you suspect a stroke, which is the key to recovery and avoiding long-term damage, according to the American Stroke Association. A stroke is a medical emergency and, while those who are older and have existing conditions such as high blood pressure are more at risk, a stroke can happen to anyone, which is the point of Stroke Awareness Month in May.
“We see these kind of cases all the time. Strokes can happen for all kinds of reasons, including in people who are healthy and have minor symptoms,” says Laura Stein, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Neurology, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who treats patients and is a researcher who focuses on improving the detection of strokes and the emergency services available to treat patients.
Laura Stein, MD, MPH
“Stroke can be very subtle, and patients need to take any sudden change in neurologic function seriously,” she says. In fact, if you suspect stroke you should call 911 and not drive to hospital. That’s because you can begin receiving treatment immediately in the ambulance and because the 911 response system is specifically set up to take you to the hospital best equipped to treat the type of stroke you may be having, according to Dr. Stein.
On the tennis court that morning, something did not seem right from the outset. When we walked on the indoor court as we normally do about 6:30 am, James told me he didn’t feel great. He asked if I had ever seen streaks of light in my eyes. He said something about “bumping into things” at his house that morning. He said he had trouble driving to the club. I was a bit alarmed. For most people, these signs might be discounted as early morning fog before you have your coffee. But not him. I suggested he sit down on the chair beside the net. He brushed me off and popped open a new can of balls.
Most people may associate strokes with obvious symptoms, such as a drooping face or slurring your words. But other key signs can be more subtle, such as balance loss, vision changes, and speech difficulty as James was experiencing.
So we began playing as if nothing were wrong. We are pretty strong players. We don’t sit around much. Our goal is to hit as many tennis balls, as hard as we can, for at least an hour and 15 minutes. I’m not in such great shape, so occasionally I try to stop early. But he normally won’t have it. We played for 90 minutes as we often do.
During this time, he seemed a bit off, not so much in how hard he was hitting the ball but in his manner on the court. He seemed at times a bit subdued, unfocused, agitated. You would notice things like this because this guy is normally so focused when we’re playing.
When we finally did stop, we stood by the net, pulling off our soaked tennis shirts for dry ones and packing our tennis bags. He said he still didn’t feel good. I suggested he sit down. He scoffed at that. But he looked a bit dazed. Some might have that look of exhaustion after an intense workout, but not him. Often he heads to the gym. I asked if he could drive himself home. He paused for a moment, and he seemed to think about that. So I offered to take him. Declined.
I urged him to make sure that he spoke with his wife when he got home; I knew she would know what to do. Unbeknownst to him, I drove behind him to make sure he got to his house, a 15-minute drive away in the northern New Jersey town where we both live.
“Stroke can be very subtle, and patients need to take any sudden change in neurologic function seriously.” — Laura Stein, MD, MPH
When I got home, I was still very concerned. About 20 minutes later I got a text: His wife was taking him to the nearby urgent care center. I was relieved.
The urgent care doctor would immediately send him to the Emergency Department at nearby Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey. The doctor called ahead, so at the ED they were waiting for him at the door with a wheel chair. There were a series of tests. The next day, a neurologist confirmed he had had a stroke, which meant that a clot had blocked the blood supply to a part of his brain. And it probably was related to a pulmonary embolism (a clot in his lung) he had years earlier, something his doctors will be examining further.
Eleven days later, James and I were back on the tennis court. Since our last session, James had seen several specialists and his own primary care doctor. They told him there was no evidence of lasting damage from the stroke. He is taking a blood thinner and will be talking more with his doctors about what other treatments may be needed.
On the court, all seemed back to normal. But my friend is well aware of how lucky he was. Stroke is more treatable than ever thanks to recent innovations in care. But the fact remains, the sooner you can get care, the better. If you can get treatment for stroke within 4.5 hours of the first symptoms, you are more likely to recover with little or no disability, according to the American Stroke Association. James knows he missed that window, and the outcome could have been much worse.
And he’s not alone in missing potentially alarming symptoms. Days later, Sandra Lee, otherwise known as Dr. Pimple Popper, a dermatologist with her own popular show on Lifetime network, would tell People magazine how she overlooked the symptoms she was having a stroke while shooting an episode.
Fortunately, James now has much to look forward to. He and his wife recently retired. They just sold their New Jersey home of 20 years and are preparing to move to North Carolina and their dream retirement community, where there are plenty of tennis courts. James expects to play every day.
David Schwab is a writer and editor in the Mount Sinai Marketing and Communications Department who oversees the Mount Sinai Today digital news site. He has been playing tennis since he was in elementary school, starting with a wood racquet.
Updated on Apr 29, 2026 | Featured, Your Health
Multiple sclerosis (MS) can be a highly destabilizing diagnosis to receive, leading a person to question their identity, yearn for explanations, and reorient their worldview.
“We have this belief in our society that we are in control of our lives. Unfortunately, MS really rips that away,” says Jordyn Anderson, PsyD, a neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Jordyn Anderson, PsyD
Psychotherapy can help patients move through the diagnosis acceptance process and provide guidance in navigating a life filled with uncertainties in dealing with this chronic disease, and, ultimately, living a meaningful life.
Dr. Anderson is the sole clinical psychologist at Mount Sinai’s Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis, where she is developing interventions for people living with MS.
People living with MS face a number of challenges that may lead them to consult with a licensed psychologist, beginning with how to incorporate their diagnosis into their sense of self, along with how to manage anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and optimizing health behaviors such as physical activity, smoking, and diet.
“Anxiety and tolerating the uncertainty that MS presents in your life, not only from a ‘what’s going to happen’ perspective, but also with navigating the medical system, is very hard,” she says. “You are dropped into a world where insurance might determine your safety, where bureaucracy might be getting in the way of whether or not you are able to receive medication.”
A clinical psychologist specializing in MS can ease the stressors associated with adjusting to the reality of living with the disease. Dr. Anderson works with patients on magnifying their internal locus of control, focusing on what they can do to help themselves while accepting this reality.
“I focus a lot on acceptance,” she says. “A patient may never be thrilled with an MS diagnosis, but accepting this reality as part of one’s life, figuring out how to live with it rather than in defiance, can be freeing.”
Grief can be a prominent factor in people’s symptoms. “Grief is not just about death,” Dr. Anderson says. “Grief is about the loss of anything. You might be grieving your sense of self as a particular label. Or maybe you are grieving your future in some way, your beliefs for what you had in store for yourself.”
Framing it as a grief process that develops and changes with time can be a way to understand the diverse array of emotions that people face. In helping people adjust mentally to dealing with their MS, and thinking of how to get through certain lifestyle situations directly affected by the disease, a grieving process can be a significant part of acceptance.
Dr. Anderson came to Mount Sinai in 2020 on a two-year clinical neuropsychology fellowship in the MS Center’s neurocognitive clinic headed by James Sumowski, PhD, who focuses on identifying and treating cognitive deficits in people living with MS. In 2022, she became the Center’s first full-time psychologist providing therapy and behavioral health interventions for patients.
The waitlist for appointments indicates the demand and need for this kind of consultative service. In 2025, she began a psychology externship, employing graduate level students to help provide interventions in order to expand the clinical reach. Patients are usually referred to her by their neurologist, or through the MS Center’s Wellness Program, which offers guidance on prioritizing diet, exercise, and sleep that can help MS patients live healthier lives.
Another common issue for individuals with MS is insomnia. “There are a myriad of reasons insomnia is happening. Is there some sort of stressor that’s in the way?” says Dr. Anderson. She works with patients in identifying sources of sleep disruption, optimizing sleep hygiene, and developing relaxation strategies. Additionally, CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Theory for Insomnia), a treatment targeting difficulties with initiating and maintaining sleep, is sometimes recommended and can be transformative in restructuring sleep routines.
Dr. Anderson specialized in MS by chance. “I always wanted to do health, neuro, and rehab, and I was lucky to get the fellowship at the MS Center,” she recalls. “I absolutely loved it. I felt like I was able to focus and become an expert in something,”
She is inspired by working in a field of neurology and psychology imbued with optimism. “It’s an amazingly hopeful time for MS. The fact is that we have these really effective medications that they are consistently researching and we are, hopefully, finding new ones,” she says.
Dr. Anderson is also drawn to “the diversity of patients,” including the broad variety of symptoms among patients, their backgrounds, and their personal stressors that come together to create very individualized experiences of the disease.
“Every single person’s challenges are valid. I feel like I am always learning so much from my patients,” she says. “I am constantly challenged and have to flex different skills. I think I’m here for good.”
By Kenneth Bandler, a multiple sclerosis patient, advocate, and member of The Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis Advisory Board
