"One of three-time Super Bowl winner Tedy Bruschi's greatest victories may be the hope he's given other stroke survivors through his fund-raising and amazing comeback, say those whose hearts are close to the cause.

"To see someone go through it the way he did was really inspirational," said Katie Jerdee, 22, a stroke survivor and soccer player at Northeastern University. "People could see it happens to young people and they can overcome it and they can return to what they were doing before," added Jerdee, who raised $10,000 for stroke awareness running two Boston Marathons on Tedy's Team.

The 36-year-old linebacker announced his retirement yesterday, after 13 seasons with the Patriots. Bruschi suffered a stroke in February 2005 and went on to play four more seasons and to champion the cause of stroke awareness through legislative lobbying, public service campaigns and a book, "Never Give Up."

Some 400 volunteers have run for Tedy's Team, raising $1.25 million in four years for the American Stroke Association."