Overcoming the Impossible: How Diana Boni Reclaimed Her Life After a Devastating Brain Stroke with Constant Therapy

On January 26, 2022, it was like any other working day for attorney Diana Boni. She was working on client cases and actively sending emails from her home office in South Dakota. But all of a sudden, her eyes blurred and she collapsed on the floor. “I was on my knees, mumbling and vomiting,” she said.

Hours later, her husband, a retired EMT, found her in that state and rushed her to the ER. She was later airlifted by airplane to Avera McKennan Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove blood clots from her brain. The damage was too severe. She feared she would never be able to think clearly and return to her practice.

“I felt like my medical team gave up on me,” Diana says. “I left the hospital with one verbal instruction that I could barely remember.”

Axial MRI scan showing the cerebellar stroke that disrupted Diana’s speech and balance.

Two years later, Diana is back in court with her license fully restored. How did this miracle happen? The answer is Constant Therapy, an evidence-based digital rehab app that offers personalized speech, language, and cognitive exercises on any smartphone or tablet.

The Stroke: What Happened & Immediate Aftermath

Diana was actually in excellent shape at the time of her stroke — fairly slender with no history of diabetes, heart disease or other systemic conditions. And yet she suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding inside the brain) that destroyed around 70 percent of her right cerebellum and left two smaller ischemic “spiders” (blood-clot blockages) on her cerebrum.

Diana had to spend three months in the hospital, including long stays in the ICU and rehab ward. She was sent home with only verbal discharge instructions. “I felt abandoned,” she recalled. “Telling a fresh stroke patient something once is useless; it felt like no one expected me to recover.”

She also never made it to her supposed neurology follow-up. “I’ve never been to a neurologist in South Dakota,” she said, nearly three years after her stroke.

Back home, her struggles went beyond mere physical challenges. She was battling debilitating vertigo, guilt over burdening her family, financial anxiety and severe depression. Besides constant throat clearing (from a partially paralyzed vocal cord), the inability to cook, walk stairs or resume work made her daily tasks exhausting. “Every day I felt like giving up,” she admitted.

And she’s not alone. Post-stroke depression (PSD) is very common among stroke survivors. In fact, studies show about one-third of these survivors go through PSD within three months to a year. People with PSD also have higher mortality rates, more long-term disability, worse cognitive deficits, poorer quality of life and more frequent suicidal thoughts (1, 2).

In Diana’s case, financial stress and guilt over leaving her teenage kid alone only made things worse. “Can you imagine having your mother almost die when you’re 14 years old?” she said, remembering her son’s distress.

The Struggle with Traditional Rehab

Traditional rehab was not a feasible option for Diana. Since she lives on a ranch in rural South Dakota, accessing therapy sessions was a major challenge for her. Also, there was only one Medicaid-approved neurologist in her state who could do the required forensic neurocognitive tests. But regular sessions would have meant a 450-mile round trip.

Long drives are tiring even for healthy adults; for a stroke survivor with vertigo, spasticity or aphasia, driving several hours on the road just for one test is not just exhausting but also risky. That’s why she has never been to a neurologist in her state.

“I am not going to drive to Pierre and back, which would have been three or four hours every day. That’s not going to happen,” she stated. It was not just the travel or the time; limited appointment availability also made it nearly impossible for her to attend sessions. She even thought of relocating but doubted whether there would be any specialized cognitive therapy in nearby towns.

Diana also received physical and occupational therapy sessions. But these therapies felt impersonal and she saw little progress. In particular, she found gaze stabilization for vertigo to be completely ineffective. “I still have profound vertigo. It’s three and a half years later, and it’s terrible, just unbearable,” she said.

Some physical therapists in hospitals even instructed Diana on how to dress herself. She was actually clueless regarding why she needed to be taught how to lean against something to put on pants.

“And I was just thinking, why would anybody need this? I mean, obviously, if I’m losing my balance when I’m putting on my pants or my socks, I’m going to lean on something,” she said. “I don’t need somebody to tell me that.”

Diana’s story isn’t a lone case. Gaps in healthcare access like hers are very common. In fact, according to the 2024 AHA Statistical Update, only 35 percent of U.S. stroke survivors receive any outpatient cognitive rehab (3). A 2023 Medicare analysis also found that 1 in 5 U.S. beneficiaries travels ≥ 50 miles one-way to see a neurologist, and rural residence quintupled the odds of that long trip (4).

Discovering Constant Therapy: A Turning Point

Since Diana’s mental fitness was in question to continue working as an attorney, she was desperately looking for something that she could use as tangible proof of her recovery. She turned to Google for answers. “I probably was looking for cognitive therapy,” she said. “I would have been looking for some kind of therapy that I could do myself without a therapist doing it for me.”

That’s how she found Constant Therapy. What caught her eye first was the long list of brain exercises designed for stroke survivors. “I just liked the idea of cognitive exercises,” she said. “The cognitive [part] was a big thing for me.”

Designed by neuroscientists from Boston University, Constant Therapy provided exactly what Diana needed: at-home therapy, trackable progress and daily cognitive exercises.

“The convenience, consistency and customization were incredible,” Diana explained. “ It was exactly what I needed.”

Why Constant Therapy Won Her Over

Pure convenience
Diana lives on a ranch and runs a solo law practice so time is all that matters to her. With the app she could train “every single day… even on Sunday” for 30–45 minutes using her smartphone or tablet from the comfort of her home and still rest afterward if needed. No long drives, no insurance paperwork, no waiting room.

Personalized exercises
When percentage problems felt impossible, she told the app to ease up. It switched to EASY mode until she was ready again. “Sometimes I would tell it flat out, don’t give me any more of these percentages’ problems. I can’t do it. So for a while, it gave me really basic arithmetic. I got, like, addition or subtraction problems,” she said. That instant adjustment was something paper workbooks and hospital sessions never offered.

Hard data she could show a judge
To regain her law license, Diana needed proof that her brain was recovering. Constant Therapy graphed every score. “It’s objective. My initial score was this; now it’s that. Judges love data,” she said.

Objective feedback that felt honest
Friends and family members kept saying she looked “fine” but the app showed real numbers. “It doesn’t know me, it doesn’t care about me, it’s just measuring what is,” she explained. That removed the guesswork and boosted her morale.

Her Recovery Journey with Constant Therapy

Daily routine
Diana used the Constant Therapy app for nearly four months, like brushing her teeth. She performed cognitive exercises using the app every single day, including Sundays, and worked until it notified her, ‘That’s all for today,’ usually after 30 to 45 minutes.

“I never gave myself a day off,” she said, adding that if fatigue hit afterward, she rested for a while but never skipped the session. “It would even say, ‘Wow, therapy on a Sunday?’ And I’d think, yeah, every day.”

Exercises performed

Diana’s plan focused on:

• Math & percentages to sharpen problem-solving.
• Memory grids to rebuild working memory.
• Verbal sequencing to strengthen language flow.
• Order-of-events tasks to improve her logic.

If an activity felt too challenging, the app adjusted automatically, giving her simpler arithmetic exercises. “I got no percentages for a few days,” she said. “And instead, I got like addition or subtraction problems.” But she pushed through. This flexibility allowed her not to become frustrated and encouraged her to learn and re-engage.

Milestones achieved
Diana saw clear improvements in memory and cognitive tasks within just a few weeks after using the app. She found herself better at “issue spotting,” a critical skill for an attorney. “I think my issue spotting is better, which is important if you’re a lawyer,” she observed.

After three months (about 12 weeks), she undertook a second neuropsychological test. Her score this time came out as above average compared to other 54-year-old women with doctorates. She presented her progress charts to the bar and local judges as proof of cognitive competence. This cleared the path for her to change her South Dakota law license status from inactive silver to active gold.

Diana praised the score charts provided by the app for proving to judges, “exactly what I’m getting better at. Judges love data,” she said proudly.

Clinical evidence

Scientific studies do back up the quick recovery Diana achieved with Constant Therapy. In fact, the effectiveness of at-home cognitive exercises was proven in a 2021 virtual randomized controlled trial. This clinical study included 32 people: half used the Constant Therapy app for 10 weeks, while the other half did regular workbook exercises (standard care). App users scored 6.43 points higher on a key language test than controls. They also showed improved verbal fluency and communication skills. The findings of this trial are highly promising as the whole thing was done virtually (5).

Telerehabilitation trials also show similar results. These studies overwhelmingly report equal motor and cognitive outcomes with tele-rehab compared to traditional in-person visits. A 2025 meta-analysis even found tele-rehab to have positive effects on balance, mobility and trunk function (6).

The Science Behind Constant Therapy’s Approach

Constant Therapy doesn’t do any guesswork to tailor cognitive exercises for stroke survivors. What sets it apart is how it adapts to each user’s unique needs, understanding their priorities and limits. Behind the curtain, there is an AI-powered core called NeuroPerformance Engine (NPE). We may also refer to it as the brain behind the app.

The NPE almost acts like a real therapist who monitors the daily progress of users, analyzes exercises they complete, and tracks every tap, every right or wrong answer they give. Based on this real-time data, it adjusts exercises based on what they’re good at and what they struggle with. If an exercise is too easy, the app will gently raise the difficulty; if a patient is struggling, it will introduce a simpler task or more cues. Put simply, the app is designed in a way to push the user just enough to make progress without burning them out.

For example, when Diana told the app “no more percentage problems,” it gave her really basic arithmetic to solve for a few days. But it didn’t forget where she was. When she was ready to solve percentage problems again, it automatically adjusted the difficulty to keep her in the challenge zone and improve her cognitive abilities.

The success of Constant Therapy isn’t exaggerated fluff – it’s backed by science. In fact, studies do show that personalized therapies can greatly improve rehabilitation outcomes. Researchers conducting the 2021 virtual randomized controlled trial suggested that this success comes from the app’s ability to keep patients in that sweet spot of challenge – not too easy to be boring, but not so hard as to cause frustration (5).

A recent study in Scientific Reports also reported similar findings. The authors found that training people based on their capabilities and preferences (basically what the NPE does) led to greater cognitive improvements and better treatment adherence in post-stroke patients (7).

Supplementing Traditional Rehab with Constant Therapy

Constant Therapy has several advantages over conventional,   rehab. A typical outpatient rehab often requires appointments, travel and often strict schedules. Stroke survivors usually need to attend one to three sessions per week, although many get far fewer sessions than they actually need. That’s because, on top of the logistics, there’s also insurance limits.

Stroke survivors can overcome these limitations with Constant Therapy. They can use it at their convenience from the comfort of their home or while on the fly. This often translates into better patient adherence. Patients can perform cognitive exercises every day whenever and wherever they are. For example, they may do a 30 to 40-minute session over morning coffee or practice a few exercises before bed. Besides the flexibility, another major advantage of using the app is its real-time adaptability.

Constant Therapy’s NPE doesn’t push survivors to go beyond their limits; instead, it adjusts based on their preference to keep them in the progress loop. And because the exercises update with even a small progress, many find it rewarding to log in daily and see their own improvement tracked over time. The steady positive feedback (“You got more correct today than yesterday!”) is definitely a powerful motivator to keep going.

In fact, doing cognitive exercises consistently pays up big-time. A study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that stroke survivors who used Constant Therapy at home had significantly greater improvement on cognitive and language tests compared to those who got therapy in a clinic alone (8).

More recently, in another study, a broader analysis of thousands of users’ data revealed that patients who practiced at least 4–5 days per week improved faster than those who practiced only once a week (9).

Put simply, Constant Therapy is designed to smartly augment the work patients do with their clinicians. If a clinician is available and working with the patient, it multiplies the impact of those sessions by giving patients guided practice between visits.

What’s the Secret Behind Constant Therapy’s Effectiveness?

Constant Therapy targets neuroplasticity to improve the cognitive performance of stroke survivors. What’s neuroplasticity? It’s the brain’s ability to adapt, reorganize and rewire its neural connections and functions through new experiences, such as recovering from an injury. Put simply, neuroplasticity is the brain’s self-healing mechanism (10).

Constant Therapy works like a catalyst that stimulates this mechanism through consistent, targeted brain training exercises. For example, Diana’s daily use of the Constant Therapy app helped re-engage the damaged parts of her brain, improving her memory, logic and math skills. It’s also the best speech therapy app for adults.

What’s more amazing about Constant Therapy is how many aspects of brain function it is able to target. Stroke survivors need help in many domains including memory, attention, language, executive functioning, and more. The app is designed to address all these cognitive domains, almost like a full gym for the brain. And each exercise type gives the user the feel of a simple game or task, even though it quietly sharpens an important skill.

For example, the platform allows users to perform many speech language exercises, since communication challenges are common after a stroke. “Name Pictures” is one such activity: the app shows a picture (say, a cat or a telephone) and the user tries to say the word out loud, receiving cues or feedback as needed. This helps stroke survivors to gradually improve their word-finding (lexical retrieval) and speech fluency.

To strengthen working memory, the app uses classic memory games. One exercise might show a sequence of pictures and later ask which picture appeared two steps ago. This kind of “N-Back” exercise is a proven working memory booster, and Constant Therapy includes it at different difficulty levels (remember 1 item back, 2 items back, etc.) to steadily stretch a patient’s memory capacity. There are also matching tasks (like Match Pictures or Match Words) that challenge users to recall locations or pairs, training visual and verbal memory in a fun, interactive way.

These are just a few examples of what Constant Therapy offers to its users. The tasks may look simple and fun to do, but behind the scenes, an AI core with the latest neuroscience knowledge is guiding the curriculum. Over time, these tasks help rewire the brain to restore normal function and retrain it to notice and remember things.

Life After Recovery & Advice for Others

Nearly three years after her stroke, Diana is back in court with her gold-level South Dakota law license fully reactivated. That’s something local officials once doubted was even possible.

“The court clerk squealed, ‘Diana, you’re coming back!’ That moment told me my brain was still mine.”

Diana still deals with vertigo and a partially paralyzed vocal cord, but her brain is firmly back in the driver’s seat. Today she speaks fluently, reads daily, actively drafts motions, takes new clients and even mentors young attorneys to solve complex cases. A big part of the credit for her recovery goes to Constant Therapy. And she admits that wholeheartedly.

“I used Constant Therapy in the hopes that it would help me with getting that part of my brain working,” she said. “And I do think it did.”

Constant Therapy didn’t just improve Diana’s cognitive skills but confidence. In fact, some of her skills even got better than before the stroke. “I think my issue spotting is better, which is important if you’re a lawyer. Somebody tells you a story, and I feel wait, wait, wait — that didn’t sound quite right.”

Physically, she can walk unassisted, climb stairs, and even jump and stick a landing when asked. “People are stunned when they see a stroke survivor who can jump and stick the landing,” she said, smiling.

Diana’s message to fellow survivors

Her advice to other stroke survivors is straightforward. “If you want to achieve a marathon, run one step at a time,” she said. “If you don’t take that step, you will never finish.”

She urges others not to wait on perfect care from an imperfect system and give digital rehab like Constant Therapy a try. “If I’d done nothing, I’d still be bedridden. Do something every single day, even if it’s just 30 minutes on an app.”

Her message is clear: “Even if you’re depressed, broke, or isolated, you can still do one thing today. Just one step. It all adds up.”

Your next step

If you are recovering from a severe stroke or traumatic brain injury, you can follow Diana’s lead. Download Constant Therapy on your phone or tablet and let its adaptive NPE be your mentor and guide. Just do short daily sessions that fit your schedule. Start your free trial of Constant Therapy today and begin your own comeback with its diverse speech language exercises.

Diana Boni, ESQ specializes in immigration law, particularly in child adoption, labor visits, and family reunification. She is accepting new clients. Dianaboni.law

Written by Imtiaz Alam, RPh

Medically Reviewed by Danielle Kelvas, MD on July 25, 2025

References

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