His leg felt numb on the airport escalator. He had a stroke mid-flight.

Jacob Adkisson and his husband, Taylor Hess, spent a joyful weekend in East Texas last fall celebrating their niece's wedding. On Monday, they headed home to Denver.

On the airport escalator, 37-year-old Adkisson felt tingling and numbness in his right leg. He mentioned it to Hess. Both figured that Adkisson must have stepped wrong and pinched a nerve. Or maybe the heavy duffle bag slung over his shoulder was somehow to blame.

Adkisson and Hess boarded their flight and settled in. Adkisson listened to music as a creeping numbness inched up his leg toward his right arm. Soon, he lost sensation across his entire right side. This isn't just a pinched nerve, he thought.

His heart raced as he thought about what to do next. He knew something was very wrong with his body. But the flight was almost over. He decided to keep quiet.

By the time the captain announced they'd be landing soon, Adkisson couldn't even chew and swallow. The right side of his face was completely numb.

Adkisson continued to suffer in silence. Finally, after claiming their bags and heading to the parking lot, Adkisson told Hess: "Something's wrong with me. We need to go to the hospital."

Adkisson previously worked in patient administration at a hospital; he checked patients in. While in the emergency room that day, he suddenly realized what was happening to him and he knew what to say to get immediate attention, "I think I'm having a stroke."

Suddenly, nurses and doctors surrounded him. They took blood and hooked him up to a heart monitor. Adkisson tried to talk to Hess, but his speech was garbled.

Adkisson's blood pressure had shot up. To get the clot-busting medication often given to stroke patients, his blood pressure had to fall.

Two years before, he'd been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He was taking medicine to help control it. Now, doctors gave him more. But his blood pressure remained too high, preventing him from getting the clot-busting medicine.

Further testing confirmed that Adkisson had an ischemic stroke, when blood supply to the brain is blocked. In Adkisson's case, the cause was a tear in an artery wall that let blood flow in, blocking the artery. The stroke impacted parts of his brain responsible for speech and movement on the right side of the body.

Adkisson started therapy the next day. He still couldn't use his right arm or leg. His mind flashed to worst-case scenarios: He'd never work again; he and Hess would have to leave Denver (where they loved hiking and riding motorcycles) for Texas, where they had family support.

Adkisson confided his fears in one of his nurses, Penny. She shared that after her husband had four strokes, he was back to living life. "Don't give up," she told Adkisson. "This isn't your future. But it's going to take a lot of work. You have to put the effort in."

Over the next few days, he worked hard at therapy and diligently did his homework. Hess and Adkisson's mom and sister, who had flown in from Texas, encouraged him.

He kept pushing, working toward the goal of moving on his own again.

One night, Adkisson went to bed unable to lift his arm to touch his nose. The next morning, he woke up and scratched his nose without thinking.

Small wins like that weren't small. They encouraged him to keep going. He eventually stood on his own. He moved to a walker. Then he climbed a hospital staircase.

A few days later, Adkisson transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital where he continued therapy. A week after that, he went home. He continued therapy for the next few months.

"Jacob's recovery was a real eye-opening experience for me," Hess said. He tears up when he thinks about Adkisson going from partially paralyzed to running a full mile. "I've also witnessed him lead a meeting and give a speech to a room full of people, and you would never know anything happened. Our brains are such a fascinating organ, and to see him today is nothing short of amazing. He truly inspires me."

Doctors believe Adkisson's blood pressure issues caused his stroke. After some trial and error, his doctors found a combination of medicines that help keep it under control. He also started sharing his story. He wanted people to know a stroke doesn't always present with the classic trio of symptoms – face drooping, arm weakness and speech problems – all at once. Instead, symptoms can appear gradually or in varying combinations.

"No matter how healthy or young you think you are, check in with yourself, your primary care doctor, monitor your vitals and, most importantly, learn the signs of stroke," Adkisson said. "It does not require more than one symptom to show. Get help immediately."

Months after his recovery, one activity still made Adkisson nervous: driving. He didn't have restrictions, but he worried. While unlikely, what if he had another stroke behind the wheel? He and Hess drew up a plan to build his confidence.

First, Adkisson sat in the driver's seat and backed the car out of the garage. Then he drove them five minutes to a local restaurant. After that, he drove to physical therapy and a doctor's appointment. He took the same approach with his motorcycle.

Now, he's fully back on the road. Adkisson chooses not to think about his recovery as "getting back to normal." Instead, he created a checklist of activities he wanted to accomplish. For example, a big hike in the mountains and 100-mile day trips on his motorcycle.

Five months after his stroke, he checked everything off but one: getting back on a plane.

He and Hess decided to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to celebrate five years of marriage and 15 years as a couple. Adkisson felt nervous in the days leading up to the flight. But it went smoothly, as did the return trip – and the 10 days of much-needed relaxation in between.

Each day, Adkisson reflects on what he's gained. The positive approach keeps him moving forward.

"I went through this experience," he said. "I can't wipe it clean. I can't delete it. I won't ever be the same person I was prior to the stroke. It's still a journey."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.