22 Aug 2026
Still Here Together | Cisco and Melissa | The Broken Road Project Podcast | Season2 Episode 16
Cisco Gonzalez was 44 when an ischemic stroke changed life for his entire family.
In S2E16 of The Broken Road Project Podcast, Cisco and his wife, Melissa Gonzalez, share both sides of a recovery story—the survivor trying to understand what happened and the caregiver suddenly forced to make decisions, advocate, protect her family, and keep moving forward.
Cisco remembers very little of the weeks that followed his stroke. Melissa remembers almost all of it.
Their journey included frightening symptoms, uncertainty, an ICU fall, a serious brain bleed, an emergency craniotomy, weeks of hospitalization, memory loss, vision and balance problems, and the long process of relearning things most of us never think twice about.
But this conversation isn't only about what they lost.
Cisco and Melissa talk honestly about rehabilitation, marriage, family, prayer, caregiver isolation, finding the right support, and how their faith grew through one of the hardest seasons of their lives.
In this episode:
• Cisco's life before his stroke at 44• The first symptoms Melissa noticed• The survivor and caregiver perspectives of the same medical crisis• Why having an advocate matters• Cisco's ICU complications and emergency craniotomy• Memory loss, vision problems, balance, and rehabilitation• The small victories that become enormous during recovery• Why recovery should never become a competition• The emotional weight carried by caregivers• Faith when the future is uncertain• How their marriage, family, and purpose changed• Why Cisco and Melissa are now helping further the mission of the Broken Road Project
One of Cisco's most important messages to other survivors is simple: don't compare your recovery to someone else's. Every survivor's road is different. Let someone else's progress inspire you—not define you.
And from Melissa comes an equally important reminder for caregivers: there are parts of this road that can feel incredibly lonely. Community matters. Support matters. Faith matters.
No survivor or caregiver should have to walk the broken road alone.
🎙️ THE BROKEN ROAD PROJECT
Website:https://www.thebrokenroad.org
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☕ FOLLOW CISCO & MELISSA
Need More Coffee Please:https://needmorecoffeeplease.com/
Their existing S2E16 guest spotlight also links to their book, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Meet Cisco & Melissa Gonzalez04:36 – Life Before the Stroke08:04 – Cisco's Last Memories Before the Stroke09:05 – Melissa Remembers the Morning Everything Changed13:05 – When the Initial Answers Didn't Fit19:19 – Learning Cisco Had a Stroke21:40 – A Family Suddenly Facing the ICU28:43 – Cognitive Changes and a Rapid Decline31:32 – The Fall That Changed the Recovery36:47 – Head Pain and a Growing Crisis40:52 – Unresponsive and Facing Emergency Surgery42:53 – Another Medical Crisis47:00 – Faith When Cisco's Life Was in the Balance49:32 – The Emergency Craniotomy51:46 – Fighting to Come Off the Ventilator56:57 – The Swallow Test and Another Answered Prayer1:02:54 – Leaving ICU and Beginning the Next Stage1:09:37 – Relearning How to Move1:18:26 – Intensive Neuro Rehabilitation1:21:19 – Recovery Doesn't End at a “Plateau”1:24:16 – How Their Faith Changed1:28:19 – Turning Their Experience Into Purpose1:30:47 – Cisco's Message to Stroke Survivors1:33:31 – Melissa's Message to Caregivers1:37:42 – You Are Not Alone
This episode shares personal experiences and perspectives and is not intended as medical advice.
#StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #CaregiverSupport #BrainInjuryRecovery #FaithAfterStroke #ChristianPodcast #YouAreNotAlone #BrokenRoadProject
YOUTUBE PINNED COMMENT
What part of Cisco and Melissa's story spoke to you mos
