Career
In 1970, Mayer suffered a stroke in the early hours following a Thanksgiving evening with her family. She was rushed to the hospital and though surviving, spent the next seven years in rehabilitation needing to re-learn such simple tasks as the alphabet and basic motor functions. Thirty years later, having regained the ability to walk and speak, Mayer considers herself 90% recovered.
Foreign over 20 years, Mayer has dedicated her life to assisting stroke survivors and their families.
She speaks to dozens of schools, colleges and corporations each year. She has been a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, made educational films to raise stroke awareness, helped found the National Stroke Association, and has appeared on Good Morning America and The Philosophy Donahue Show, and her story has been featured in magazines such as People and Circle.
Mayer is also executive director of the Mission Vacationland pageant. Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, formerly known as Providence Hospital, features the Jackie Mayer Rehab & Skilled Nursing Center.
She has two children (now adults): Bill Townsend, a technology entrepreneur—cofounder of the Lycos search engine, and board member at Newegg.com and Amati Foundation, and Kelly Rostic, a former anchorwoman with National Broadcasting Company and Fox.
