The Powerful Story Behind This Music Exec's Stroke and Rebuilding His Life
For some, working is a nonstop grind that doesn’t end until you make it to the top. Entertainment executive and former SWV manager Cory Taylor had already reached several incredible milestones and was continuing to climb; however, when he suffered a stroke in February 2016, he had to reevaluate the amount of stress he was allowing into his life. Taylor spoke with BET about how his medical condition affected his life and how he hopes to bring awareness for others.
At the age of 42, a stress-induced stroke put Taylor’s life and career in the music industry on hold. When Taylor first arrived at the hospital, doctors were unsure of his diagnosis, and the music exec had to wait several uneasy days until he was told he’d suffered a stroke.
After receiving his diagnosis, Taylor started on the road to recovery and he admits, it has been challenging.
“I can’t run, I can no longer walk the same, I can’t tie my shoe,” Taylor told BET of how his life has been impacted. “Everything is different.”
Although Taylor faced a tough hardship, his fight to return back to his life in the industry has also allowed him to use his platform to bring awareness to how stress alters your body.
Taylor is a national ambassador of the American Heart and Stroke Association and hopes he can help others avoid ending up in his position.
“Listen to your body, be careful of what you’re eating, minimize your stress, and get plenty of water,” Taylor said. “This can happen to anyone, and I want to let people know to be aware of the signs and be aware of your body.”
Now that Taylor and his body are on the mend, he is working to get back into the industry that he loves, and support from friends has helped him along the way.
“Faith Evans, Nokio of Dru Hill, Coko of SWV,” were some of the friends whose support helped uplift Taylor throughout this time.
As for the future, Taylor already has several projects underway and is determined to keep living his life, regardless of what obstacles may come.
"I am getting slowly back doing what I love to do. I have developed a few TV projects with Faith Evans that we are currently pitching. I've been also assisting Grammy Award-winning R&B group "Blackstreet" and plan on starting RnBSpotlight back up again in the near future. I am working also on a new inspirational radio show as well. Just because life happened to me, that doesn't mean I have to stop living life."
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