Stuck in a tiny hospital room for months, relearning how to care for herself in the simplest ways, she felt robbed of her dignity. Her marriage ended. Another blow.
The prospect of ever returning to a normal life seemed impossible, and she mourned her old life.
"If I had been able to look forward and see myself even a year on, it would have been a huge help," she said.
With unmatched focus and constant goal setting, Ms Donner has forged a new life - not the one she had planned, but one she was grateful to have.
That bloody stroke nearly killed her.
Today, she lives independently with her two sons in Te Puke.
She drives and has started full-time study towards a Bachelor of Community Health at Toi-Ohomai - typing her assignments with one hand.
In her spare time, she has been exploring Paralympic sports.
"The biggest thing has been setting myself goals. It's the easiest way to measure my progress.
"My first goal was to walk around the Mount. This year, I got up to the top. It was brutal, but I did it."
Two years earlier, she could not even roll over in bed.
Ms Donner does not gloss over the hard bits and has been open about all aspects of her recovery, including the mental struggles.
"Some days are okay, and some days you cry just trying to open a bag of chips for your son," she said.
Ms Donner's openness and grit have been an inspiration to staff at the Midlands branch of the Stroke Foundation.
"She is just a totally awesome lady. I take my hat off to her. She has had so many ups and downs but she just gets up and keeps fighting," branch manager Tracie Gutrie said.
"She's so supportive of others. She is a fabulous example to anyone who has suffered a disability through injury - if you can battle it, you can win."
- 9000: strokes in New Zealand each year - 2500: people die from a stroke every year - 60,000: stroke survivors in New Zealand - $450m: annual cost of strokes - 2 to 3 times: increased risk of a ischaemic stroke to Maori - 60: average age of stroke onset for Maori - 60-75: average age of stroke onset for non-Maori