Before his stroke, Paul Esparza was a successful business owner, husband, and father of two. His wife described him as being constantly on the move and often stressed. Then five years ago, Paul suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.
“After the stroke, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move,” he says. “I could barely remember my name and my kids’ names.”
When Paul first started in the Work Adjustment Training program at Goodwill, he noticed a dramatic difference.
“Just having a place to go each day again helped me,” he says. “I worked every day to relearn things because I knew that I had to be there for my family.”
Paul credits Goodwill with helping him get to where he is today.
“Without Goodwill, I would never have been able to find my job [at GameDay Industries],” he says. “Goodwill acted like my second voice when I couldn’t speak up because of my stroke. Without their help I never would be where I am today.”