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Print this story Every once in a while here at the Journal, we get to do stories that can't help but make you feel good. Such was the case in Monday's edition with reporter Gary Demuth's story about Francis Roesner and Dick Schneiders. Both had suffered strokes. Strokes are not a laughing matter, but as one can see from Journal photographer Jeff Cooper's photos of Schneiders and Roesner, both men have learned to laugh and persevere. In 2007, Roesner, 74, was singing at Sacred Heart Cathedral when a blood vessel burst on the left side of his brain, causing him to have a stroke. Schneiders, 63, had his stroke a year earlier while he was at Salina Regional Health Center, recovering from a triple bypass when a blood clot traveled to the left side of his brain. The results could have been devastating. "I couldn't do anything," Schneiders said. "I couldn't walk, my speech was slurred. I couldn't even remember my wife's name." According to the America Stroke Association Web site, about 780,000 Americans yearly suffer a new or recurrent stroke, or, on average, one every 40 seconds. More than 150,000 a year die from stroke. It's the No. 3 cause of death behind heart attacks and cancer. It kills more women than men. To learn more about strokes, go online at www.strokeassociation.org. For local information about stroke rehabilitation and the Salina Area Stroke Support Group, call Salina Regional Health Center at 452-6787. Schneiders' and Roesner's stories have a happy ending. Although they both still have complications from their strokes, the longtime performers have joined to form Different Strokes -- Francis sings and plays the omnichord, and Dick plays the guitar. Salina.com's April Middleton caught a recent performance of the duo, and the entirely heart-warming and charming video can be viewed at salina.com. After their performance for an audience made up mostly of stroke victims and those connected to them, one audience member wept and said it best: "They're marvelous. They give me courage." -- Ben Wearing, Executive Editor member of the Editorial Board
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