Baltimore, Maryland
My parents had a career vision for me. My mother, especially, saw a path leading toward television reporting.
Or one becoming an attorney.
“You like arguing.”
“I don’t want to argue for a living though, mom,” I remember telling her at 17.
I personally couldn’t envision a career in either direction. Luckily for them, a tv production course was required for my degree program. If I chose to continue down that track, my semester would need to be filled with additional production and journalism classes.
I gave it a shot (because I had to) and ultimately determined it was ‘no’ for me. I’m not an on-camera person. I’m more of a “behind-the-scenes” kind of gal.
Although tv reporting was not my ministry, it was a great fit for former reporter and stroke survivor, Shannel Pearman, who initially had different ideas about what she wanted to be when she grew up.
“I went to college with aspirations of wanting to be a lawyer – that was my dream. It wasn’t until I took a journalism class in college as an elective and fell in love. I decided in that moment I wanted to become a reporter.”
She would go on to join Rutgers University’s tv station and after graduating, hustled to position herself as future reporter, taking various internships at news stations across New York City.
“I worked so hard to get a job as a reporter after college. While there are many exciting things about that line of work, my favorite are the interesting people you get to meet and having the privilege of getting to tell their stories.”
I’m reminded of my own collegiate journey – I had a high school music teacher who heard me singing in a local park. She took me under her wing, gave me vocal lessons and taught me the musical mechanics to strengthen my voice. This preparation led to vocal auditions at Wartburg College where I received a partial music scholarship to sing in the prestigious Meistersinger’s honor choir.
For the both of us, it was one event. One teacher. One class.
“Journalism was a field I never considered, or thought could be a career choice for me. The course ignited a true love for storytelling that I didn’t know I had.”
Shannel spent seven years in the business, recounting harrowing stories like the death of a 7-year-old girl who was shot and killed sitting in the back seat of a car and the murder of Baltimore detective Sean Suiter.
“It wasn’t all doom and gloom – I did a story on a young Carroll County resident who raised donations for Christmas presents to send to those in need and the Baltimore drummers who went viral and have been featured on the Ellen Show numerous times.”
Her life was set to move at a much slower pace with the arrival of motherhood. In 2019, her son Jayce was born. She experienced a smooth pregnancy up until her final week.
“There were some red flags that were concerning – in a short amount of time I had gotten really swollen, gained a lot of weight and had a rise in blood pressure. I expressed my concerns to my doctor and was assured everything was fine.”
Still uneasy, Shannel went in for testing before being sent home. She was scheduled to be induced that upcoming weekend, but felt anxious that something wasn’t quite right.
“I messaged my doctor asking if there was any way I could be induced sooner - I was already passed 40 weeks at this point. Once again, I was assured I would be ok and that we were going to stick to the planned schedule. I ended up being induced after my expected delivery date. Thankfully, I was able to safely deliver my son via emergency c-section, but my body was clearly not ok.”
One week post-delivery, Shannel would go on to have a cerebral hemorrhage on the right side of her brain, affecting her left side vision. Records indicate that her bleed was due to “postpartum preeclampsia” – a rare hypertensive condition that skyrocket blood pressure and swelling after childbirth, leaving way for a stroke.
“The signs were there and were ignored.”
All too often, Black women go unheard in the medical community - maternal mortality and injury rates continue to be higher for Black females, irrespective of income or education level (source).
“Inequality comes in many forms for People of Color, both here and abroad, but race-related health disparities are among the starkest and most resistant to progress. Being a Black female further amplifies these inequities, which is particularly troubling and ironic given the fact that Women of Color make up the majority of healthcare workers. Over the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this unfortunate reality into even more clear focus, ” says Piraye Beim of endofound.org.
Included in Shannel’s recovery plan are the typical methods of rehab: physical, mental and occupation therapy. Specific to her, a low-vision specialist to help with ocular complications.
I remember going through a similar set of processes after my own bleed. I had a speech therapist to assist with the onset of aphasia – a language impairment brought on by brain damage.
Motor disorders are not uncommon with survivors. On Shannel’s Instagram feed, I have seen many videos of her interfacing with the audience. Her speech is connected and consistent – you would not be able to tell unless she told you.
“I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am today. Most videos I create come with so much work: they require lots of edits, retakes and a ton of practice, even if the video is a quick 30 second clip. I love to talk, hence the reason I started a career where I spoke for a living, but now I struggle trying to get my point across. Processing information and even finding the right words can be very difficult for me. This was an issue I’ve known about for a long time - finding a medical professional to help me with my speech has been difficult. During my recovery, everyone’s focus was my vision; no one focused on the cognitive issues that came post-stroke. These are things I’ve been trying to research and navigate. I’m hoping to get professional help in the near future so that I can try to get as close to my pre-stroke self as possible.”
I cannot tell you the number of job interviews I have gone on where my aphasia has disrupted the flow of the meeting. The assumption is that I am ill-prepared or worse, incompetent. It isn’t that I don’t know, but that I am struggling with word placement. This is another reason why written word has become such an asset and release of mine. It is much easier for me to write my thoughts rather than verbalize them.
As Shannel pointed out, it takes a lot of practice to get to a place of confidence with your speech.
“This journey will be a marathon not a sprint. You have to be able to surround yourself with positive, uplifting people that will help you along the way. There will be days that are rough - that’s when you turn to your village. It’s also important to always make yourself a priority; your physical health and mental health are so important. Finding a team of specialists who see you, will listen to you and get you all the help you truly need is valuable. I felt that many of my medical professionals didn’t truly hear me when I would talk or express concerns. After everything that has happened, I know how detrimental that can be. I am now working on finding medical professionals who truly understand the complex nature of being a stroke survivor to make sure I am getting the best care in all areas.”
As far as retuning back to work, Shannel is focused on caring for herself, her family and basketing in the joy of being a new mom.
“I hope and pray that in time, I will at least be given the opportunity to try to get back out there and do what I love, but for now my biggest project is just recovering and taking care of my son.”
Shannel is an incredible woman with a remarkable story – this Black History Month, we not only honor her professional achievements as an Emmy nominated reporter, but as a survivor.
“Never stop telling your story. It’s an outlet to express yourself - you never know who your story is touching or who you are motivating and inspiring.”
You can find Shannel on IG @ShannelPearman.
Fast5 Facts:
Define Success: Happiness
Coffee or Tea of Choice: Coffee
Who/What Is Your Motivator: Family
What Balances You: Jayce (my son)
Favorite Color: Red