On January 25, 2024, my world changed. Three days after our 30th wedding anniversary, my husband had a massive stroke. He had an emergency Thrombectomy, but it was unsuccessful. Most of the left side of his brain died and is now non-functioning, which has left him non-verbal, has right-side paralysis (arm and leg) and incontinence, so he now uses a wheelchair and personal protection briefs (diapers) daily. After the Thrombectomy he was in the ICU for 7 days, then he was moved to a rehabilitation hospital where he stayed for 6 weeks. 

In February 2024, I was laid off without warning from my job. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to find a job,

In March, my husband was discharged from the hospital for the first time; he came home for a couple of weeks and started going to the SSM Day Institute for Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Therapy (ST). He was doing well and getting stronger every day, but then he developed a massive hematoma to his right side as well as an Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), so they admitted him into the hospital a second time. While he was in the hospital, they implanted a filter to protect him from any Pulmonary Embolisms (PE) going into his lungs. Once he was released from the hospital for the second time, we went back to the SSM Day Institute for PT, OT, and ST, and he did well for about a month.

On June 3rd, my husband's employer terminated him because he could not return to work. Now that he lost his job, we are both out of work with no foreseeable income. I did apply for Social Security Disability for him, but it will take 6-9 months to process. 

Early Sunday morning on June 16, 2024, he suffered a seizure, so I called 911. They took a CAT scan, and during the scan, he had another seizure, which the nurse witnessed. They admitted him to the hospital again and performed an EEG test on his brain. A few days later, he developed a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics, so the doctors ordered him to be quarantined and prescribed a full course of Bactrim. He is still in the hospital as I write this letter, July 15, 2024. He is getting stronger, but since we both lost our jobs, he has had to go on Medicaid, and the medical bills are piling up from the three hospital stays, acute rehab, and the PE filter placement surgery.

With all of these medical issues and both of us losing our jobs, we have no money to pay the ongoing medical bills, outpatient rehabilitation, medical equipment (bed, wheelchair, hemi-walker, AFO brace, slide board, etc.) For example, one month of self-pay outpatient rehabilitation therapy costs $10,000 at the SSM Day Institute.

Please help us. We will be forever grateful for anything you can give us. We will get through this rough time in our lives as we know God has a plan for us. :-)