Powerful voices, real stories: inside the 2026 Sentara Stroke Symposium
Sentara's premier cerebrovascular health event drew 150 providers for education, case studies, and candid conversations with survivors
Herbert Barnes, 72, ran his one-man concrete business for 40 years until March 25, when he crashed a backhoe into the side of a truck on a job site.
Startled workers ran to help, found him unresponsive, and called 911. Paramedics took Herbert to Sentara Leigh Hospital, where he was quickly assessed and transferred to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital for urgent treatment of a stroke.
“I thought I was invincible,” Herbert told 150 stroke care providers at the 6th Annual Sentara Stroke Symposium held May 15 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
“It’s an emotional thing now,” he said. “This is going to affect me for the rest of my life, and I worry about having another one.”
Herbert spent 33 days in the hospital, restless and grumpy, worried about his business, delayed contracts, canceled deliveries, his workers, and income.
His wife, Linda, a teacher, found herself thrust into a caregiving role she never anticipated and wasn’t prepared for.
“He came home with 14 medications,” Linda shared at the symposium. “I’m not a pharmacist, and it’s a tough responsibility.”
While the Barneses are complimentary of Herbert’s care and grateful for the care team who appealed a health insurance denial for inpatient rehabilitation and won, Linda believes there could have been better communication to prepare them for what followed at home. “They didn’t tell me about the possibility of a seizure after a stroke,” Linda said. Herbert had his first seizure in the middle of the night, which brought alarm and panic. That is, until they learned it comes with the territory. Linda chalked it up to a busy doctor, who cleared Herbert for discharge with best wishes, but not enough information. “He could have stayed an extra minute,” Linda said.
Linda and Herbert Barnes speak on a stroke survivor panel at the 6th Annual Sentara Stroke Symposium, May 15, 2026.
The Barneses were among the featured patient voices at the symposium, which brings together stroke care providers from across the region for a day of evidence-based education on the latest insights in cerebrovascular health.
Now in its sixth year, the event has become a cornerstone for Sentara's stroke care community — a rare space where physicians, therapists, nurses and other allied health professionals learn as much from patients as from each other.
Another stroke survivor, 70-year-old Larry Robinson, shared his experience at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge, Virginia. The retired U.S. Army veteran credits Andrea Helmbach, nurse practitioner and clinical manager, with keeping him informed from day one.
“She was talking in my ear from the time the EMTs rolled me in the door,” Larry recalled. “She told me everything that was going to happen before they did it.”
Larry’s wife, Angela, was finishing the couple’s taxes on April 15 when Larry started showing symptoms.
“That’s why I had the stroke,” he joked. “The taxes.”
Larry had the stroke three days after his mother’s funeral. Angela thinks the stress of losing her contributed to it. She credits her awareness of the FAST acronym for recognizing Larry’s symptoms.
“FAST saves lives,” she told the group of providers.
FAST stands for Face, Arm, Speech, and Time, which Angela knew was critical, and she called 911. Paramedics took Larry to Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, where he received the clot-busting drug Tenecteplase and began a rapid recovery.
“I’m a soldier,” Larry said. “I just get up and go.”
The next morning, Larry was walking the hospital halls, with help, and itching to go home.
“The care was excellent,” Larry told the group. “You can tell who’s doing the work from the heart, and I had ‘em all. Ya’ll are understaffed!”
For all his joking, Larry has been through a difficult time, Angela said.
“It’s a daily struggle,” she said. But they’re grateful for where he is now in his recovery, and they’re grateful to Andrea Helmbach and her team. “They’re like a family we inherited,” Larry said.
Larry and Angela Robinson pose with Andrea Helmbach at the 6th Annual Sentara Stroke Symposium, May 15, 2026.
Providers and speakers also emphasized multidisciplinary teamwork and shared cases where collaboration made the difference. None was more striking than the story shared by a care team that supported a pediatric stroke patient with autism.
The child, strong-willed and full of opinions, shuttled between Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters next door for care. A team of physical, occupational, and speech therapists worked together on a creative care plan that met the child where she was and helped her regain the ability to walk.
At the Sentara Stroke Symposium, the message was clear. “It takes a team,” was heard more than once. “It takes a village.”
Sentara stroke support group helps survivors and families
And the village doesn't stop at the hospital doors.
A stroke support group led by survivor Jeff Booker meets on the second Thursday of every month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Sentara Brock Cancer Center in Norfolk, offering survivors and families a space to connect, share, and find their footing together. The group also organizes outings and luncheons. To sign up, email rbook005@gmail.com.
By: Dale Gauding