Karissa Denae Johnson can still remember the indignity of it all — the day her life fell to pieces.

It came in college, sometime between traveling the country as a childhood performer and traveling the globe as a young adult given a second chance. Between going on mission trips with her family and writing her first book. Between singing Sundays at Omaha-area churches and pursuing a career on stage in New York City.

The moment intersecting those experiences came April 23, 2007, the day 21-year-old Karissa suffered a stroke. The Omaha native was mere weeks away from graduating college, with plans to teach and to sing. Without warning, her plans were suddenly thrown into doubt.

“I was forced to stop, to rest, to push pause,” Johnson recalled.

She fought to regain all that was lost that d

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