Kevin didn't. But that's exactly what happened.

After suffering a major stroke in his brain stem, doctors at a hospital in New York told his wife he wouldn't make it through the night. The hospital chaplain gave him last rites…three times. That was 20 years ago.

He survived that first night - and the next five weeks in the hospital - by thinking about his family. "I had a 3-year-old daughter and a wife and I just couldn't let them down," Kevin said.

Although he was paralyzed on his right side and had trouble speaking, he regained most of his mobility and speech after months of strenuous rehabilitation. But one thing didn't get better: the severe facial pain that kept him from sleep, prevented him from work and overpowered almost every joy in his life.