POST FALLS — James Gaboury remembers waking up to numbness last year, unable to move his left leg.

"So I kicked it," the Dalton Gardens man said with a smile.

His next decision — to let the condition temporarily slide — is one he regrets.

"The next morning I still wasn't quite right," he said.

The 89-year-old didn't realize he was suffering from a mini stroke.

His daughter took him to a hospital later that day. However, in hindsight, Gaboury said he wishes he’d been checked out earlier because by waiting, things could have been much worse.

"If you're in doubt, you'd better go (to the hospital)," he said. "It was wrong for me not to come in right away. I'm now more aware of what could have happened."

Gaboury was among about 25 stroke survivors and past patients of the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Northwest who shared recovery testimonies with each other and hospital staff on Thursday during the first reunion of its type at the facility.

Heidi Frazier, the hospital's marketing director, said the reunion aimed to encourage survivors and give staff an update on their progress.

"It's important for past patients not to become isolated, but be a part of the community," Frazier said. "The feedback we've gotten from our patients is that it's nice to meet with other stroke survivors."

Some of the past patients, including Gaboury and Coeur d'Alene's Marjorie Hentges, were in the hospital at the same time. They recognized each other at the reunion.

"We have the same girlfriend, but she was my girlfriend first," Hentges said with a laugh while catching up with Gaboury.

Hayden's Gary Henry is still recovering from his stroke. He became teary-eyed when he expressed his appreciation for hospital staff after his episode.

"I was told (by a staff member) that I was a hot mess when I got here," he said. "I improved to a warm mess to being just a mess now."

The facility last year became Idaho's first hospital to be nationally certified by The Joint Commission for Stroke Rehabilitation after an on-site review of its practices, programs and outcomes of stroke patients.

May is National Stroke Awareness Month, designated to spotlight signs of stroke that can be remembered by the acronym FAST, including:

- F — face drooping;

- A — arm weakness;

- S — speech difficulty;

- T — time to call 911.

Causes of strokes include: hypertension, stress, alcohol, heart issues, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, obesity and poor diet.

According to the National Stroke Association, strokes are the cause of about one out of every 20 deaths.

Eric Carlson, a stroke survivor from Pinehurst, said he was "scared" at first after being admitted to the Post Falls hospital before those concerns were alleviated.

"This place gave me a lot of hope," he said.

Carlson said he recalls staggering down a hall at the hospital when he heard an employee instruct him to "hold those hips straight when you walk."

"I was only here for three weeks, and I'll have memories for the rest of my life," he said.

Post Falls' Kathy McCaughin said she was "terrified" when she was first admitted to the facility after tomatoes tumbled out of her hands last summer. She said she didn’t know what to expect with her condition.

"The staff knew how terrified I was," she said. "They just gave me the facts to get past that terror."

McCaughin then said to several staff members: "You pushed when I needed pushed and you hugged when I needed hugged."