Hours after a massive stroke, 39-year-old was talking and moving

For a week or so, Ashley Lunardini felt an intermittent pain in her neck. She also had a dull headache that wouldn't go away. She'd had neck pain before, but headaches were rare.

Overall, she was in excellent health. At 39, she went to Pilates class three times a week, walked every day and ate healthy meals.

She went to see her primary care physician. She didn't see anything wrong. Thinking Lunardini's discomfort could be caused by a nerve, the doctor gave her a prescription for pain medicine.

That evening, Lunardini became nauseous and dizzy. She assumed it was a reaction to the medication.

The next morning, a Friday, she felt fine. After a quick trip to the grocery store, she pulled into her driveway. Steering toward the garage, she became so dizzy she had to stop the car. Soon after, she was fine.

A half hour later, the vision in her left eye started to blur. Before long, it cleared up.

"Something is really weird," she told her husband, Tim Barlog.

A pub in their Chicago neighborhood was having a dog-friendly event that evening, and the couple wanted to take Ruby, their dachshund-beagle mix. Lunardini had noted that Ruby had followed her everywhere all week and whined when she was away – things the dog never did. At the pub, she stayed under Lunardini's chair, again out of character.

Back home an hour later, the couple was about to order a pizza when Lunardini suddenly felt a surge of electricity course through her body.

"Something's not right," she told Barlog. "What is wrong with me?"

She started to cry.

"Here, drink some water," he said, handing her a glass.

With a shaking hand, she started to take the glass but didn't know what to do with it. Then she slumped over on the couch.

"Ashley, can you hear me?" Barlog...