More than a run: Six months after stroke, Stella Petry Broussard taking part in Beignet Boogie

Stella Petry Broussard will take the starting line Sunday morning for the 8th annual Beignet Boogie 5k.
The race will begin at 9 a.m. on the side of Mount Carmel in Abbeville.
Broussard, 58, has run dozens of races just like this one. Only, this one is different.
Completely different.
Last July, Broussard suffered a massive stroke. During her recovery, Broussard’s wellness nurse had her set goals.
“I wanted to run,” Broussard said.
Broussard set that first goal to be met in October for the Boogie on the Boulevard in Kaplan.
“That’s always the first race I do to kick off my running season,” Broussard said. “I wasn’t able to participate in that one.”
Broussard adjusted her goal, leading to Sunday morning’s race, six months after the stroke.
“I’m so excited,” Broussard said. “I will be set on crossing that finish line.”
Broussard will be driven Sunday by the same motivation that helped get her out of the hospital bed in the first place.
“What got me going,” Broussard said, “was my faith, family and friends. When each family member would walk in my hospital room, I would look in their eyes. I couldn’t do that to them.
“I refused to have them bury me.”
Broussard also refused to hear what she couldn’t do.
“They kept telling me what I couldn’t do,” Broussard said. “No, just give me some time and I’m going to do it.”
Broussard will not be concerned about her time when it comes to the race.
“If I have to run, walk or crawl,” Broussard said, “I will finish this race.”
She will not be alone.
“My 7-year-old granddaughter, Xy, is so worried about me,” Broussard said. “She told me she is going to do it with me.”
Other family members will join her. Her grandson, Xavier Alexander will run. Her great-nephew, Quinton Marshall, a former Vermilion Catholic student, will run, too.
Her husband, Kevin, will be there, as he has throughout the entire process.
“He’s more than a rock,” Broussard said. “He was my eyes when I couldn’t see and my legs when I couldn’t walk. He is my everything.
“He is a superman.”
Family and friends will be easy to spot on Sunday. They will be wearing T-shirts honoring Broussard’s effort. While promoting stroke awareness, the saying on the shirt is fitting.
“In this family,” Broussard said, “no one fights alone.”