DEARBORN, Mich. - Terry Foster says he traveled more this past summer than ever before.

There was a sun-soaked getaway to Punta Cana with his wife, Adrienne. A visit to California to see his daughter, Celine, who works in TV and film production in Los Angeles. And later, a journey from Texas to Harlem to help his son, Brandon, settle into the next chapter of his career.

For the semi-retired sports media personality, these moments are gifts. After suffering two strokes a few months apart in 2016, he knows how easily his story could have ended differently.

"These are things that were not promised to me," Foster said. "But thanks to my doctors, nurses, and everyone else, I've been able to experience them."

Foster credited several members of his Henry Ford Health care team, including speech pathologist Alice Silbergleit, Ph.D., in helping him get his voice back.

"He needed to go back on air," Silbergleit said. "Terry was very motivated, and that made all the difference."

At this year's gathering, Foster opened with a twist.

"I thought about starting my speech by saying, 'It's not about you,'" he told the crowd. "But maybe it's more that it's not all about you."

Foster's health scare began on an ordinary June morning. Sitting at his computer, he noticed his wrist drooping and his typing faltering. He brushed it off as a bad day.

By afternoon, he was on air, though listeners likely noticed something was off.

"I sounded like I was drunk," Foster recalled.

A visit to his doctor revealed the truth: he'd had a stroke. At Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, doctors showed him 3D images of his brain's blood vessels.

"It looked like I-696 at 3 in the morning - just wide open and clear," he said. "But on the left side, there was this one vein hanging there like, 'ehhh.' They said, 'You probably had that since you were a kid, just waiting to go.' That's where the stroke happened."

Adrienne feared the worst until she saw her husband's familiar personality shining through - even from a hospital bed.

"She said, 'I was really worried you'd be paralyzed. But when I came in and saw you flirting with the nurse, I knew you'd be OK,'" Foster said with a laugh.

Nearly 1 in 4 stroke survivors suffer another stroke, according to the American Stroke Association. Foster's second stroke, that fall during Celine's senior homecoming, was tougher.

"It made my personality flat," he said. "I'd go whole days without saying a word. I didn't want to go anywhere."

Recovery required months of occupational, physical, and speech therapy. At first, Foster resisted the speech exercises, which included reading children's books aloud. Eventually, he embraced the work and learned to slow down. Foster told fellow survivors that folks will be patient when listening to them because what they have to say is important.

"Terry had dysarthria but recovered well with short-term therapy," Silbergleit said. "Typically, people who have distorted articulation tend to speak quicker because they want to get it over with, or they think it's going to help with their intelligibility. And actually, it's the opposite."

Foster reunited with Silbergleit at this year's picnic. The audience was smaller than the tens of thousands who once tuned in to his radio show or read his Detroit News columns, but the message carried more weight.

He urged survivors, especially men, to set aside pride, follow their treatment plans, and trust their doctors.

"You followed the game plan, and you caught it early," Foster said he was told by doctors. "Doctors can help you if you catch it early. Your chances diminish when you wait."

Now 66 and refreshed after some time away from the daily grind, Foster has returned to broadcasting with Woodward Sports Network and devotes time to mentoring young sportswriters, often speaking to college students. He's also cherishing his roles as husband and father, determined to make the most of his second chance.

"People around us make life worth living," he said. "We should thank them for that."

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