Even with recurring health problems -- a broken pelvis, brittle diabetes, a liver ailment, and a recent collision with a truck while riding her power-scooter -- Marie has bounced back every time. “It’s my goal to stay independent,” says Marie, who has lived in Oakland since the 1980s. A strong support network of friends has been a key component of Marie’s life since her stroke.

“I think it’s very special that Marie has such close friends who have been there every step of the way,” says Dr. Roberta Elman, president of the Aphasia Center. Marie met some of these friends at the Center, where she has attended Aphasia Center conversation groups since the Center opened in 1996. Last spring, she attended the Center’s reading and writing classes. “That was very helpful to me,” says Marie. “I read everything I can get ahold of and my reading skills have really improved.”

With her wit, humor and will to live life to the fullest, Marie serves as an inspiration to other Center participants. “She’s a role model for how someone with both language and physical problems can maintain their independence and self-esteem,” says Dr. Elman. “She has a lot of fortitude. She’s had continuous challenges, but what people see is that she continues to have a strong spirit and she doesn’t give up.”

It was this kind of strength that Marie used to fight a recent threat of eviction. When she got wind of a plan to end the assisted living program at her apartment complex, Valdez Plaza, a plan that would have left her without a home, Marie went before the Oakland City Council and the County Board of Supervisors to plead her case --no small feat for someone with aphasia and apraxia.

Activism is nothing new to Marie. Before receiving her MA in American Literature, Marie spent time traveling extensively in Central and South America. Her travels in Latin America eventually led to her involvement with groups dedicated to Central America --one of the many causes she has taken up during her life.

Though the assisted living program was eventually terminated for lack of funding, Marie’s efforts paid off. She kept her apartment and successfully convinced board and council members to contribute money to keep the program afloat, although their pledged financial aid was ultimately not enough. By going in front of these government bodies, Marie also educated members about aphasia -- a disorder frightfully few people understand-- as well as the need for assisted living programs for people with disabilities.

“I think what’s remarkable for someone with aphasia is that she didn’t let it get in her way or intimidate her,” said Dr. Elman, referring to Marie’s efforts to save her apartment. “She’s hasn’t let (the aphasia) stop her from doing things that she really believes in. Marie is still a fighter.”