Darlene's Recovery & Transition
Donation protected
On Sunday, October 11th my mom went from leading the prayer at church to struggling to breathe after an allergic reaction to unknown peanut products in a cookie sent her into anaphylactic shock. When she rested under sedation in the ICU in Healdsburg Hospital, we all thought that the worst of it was over, and that she had called 911 just in time.
But her dangerously spiked vital signs stirred something else in her, and when she awoke from sedation and fought to remove her ventilator against all of our wishes, her right side remained motionless, and we soon learned that she had suffered a stroke during the ordeal.
Not only had she had a stroke while sedated (unable to tell us, unable to show signs), but it was a devastating stroke that every doctor we met over the coming hours and days warned us would likely take her life.
From the very beginning she proved all of us wrong. When she woke from her sedation, even the restraints couldn't stop her from removing that ventilator. When doctors promised us that communication ability was the last thing we could expect her to regain after such damage, we were beside ourselves when she would chuckle over a joke we told in her presence, or squeeze my hand to tell me that it would be okay. She pulled that blasted feeding tube out three times before the doctors relented to the fact that she could in fact eat on her own, despite what the brain scans were telling them.
She has defied the odds at every turn, and has fought all along the way. It has been my role, and honor, to clear the path for her so that she can climb as far as she is willing and able to go.
As my mom moves from clinging to life to making a life for herself, we have landed on the new biggest hurdle, which are no longer odds of survival, but odds of having a life that means something to her. I am certain that given the chance and the tools, she will continue to be relentlessly beating those odds.
This is a long road, and I've been told by multiple stroke survivers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers that the first six months and first year are what set the pace for her recovery. Until October 11th my mom was living on her own, taking care of her pup and cat, and we had a date set just days later for us to start planning a round country road trip together. This hit us like a truck.
I am calling on her community, my community, and all of those who have been asking about how she is doing, reading my updates on her progress, and asking how they can help. This is it.
The next few months are full of transitions from rehab to intensive rehab, to board & cares to long term options to set my mom up for her new life. This money will go directly to these transitions and bills that surround her recovery, particularly over the next couple of months as I maneuver this system that is not set up to cover her financial need.
The support from friends and family of my mom, as well as my own, have left me speechless. I did not know that such generosity and unwaivering support was available for us until this all unfolded. I am forever thankful.
But her dangerously spiked vital signs stirred something else in her, and when she awoke from sedation and fought to remove her ventilator against all of our wishes, her right side remained motionless, and we soon learned that she had suffered a stroke during the ordeal.
Not only had she had a stroke while sedated (unable to tell us, unable to show signs), but it was a devastating stroke that every doctor we met over the coming hours and days warned us would likely take her life.
From the very beginning she proved all of us wrong. When she woke from her sedation, even the restraints couldn't stop her from removing that ventilator. When doctors promised us that communication ability was the last thing we could expect her to regain after such damage, we were beside ourselves when she would chuckle over a joke we told in her presence, or squeeze my hand to tell me that it would be okay. She pulled that blasted feeding tube out three times before the doctors relented to the fact that she could in fact eat on her own, despite what the brain scans were telling them.
She has defied the odds at every turn, and has fought all along the way. It has been my role, and honor, to clear the path for her so that she can climb as far as she is willing and able to go.
As my mom moves from clinging to life to making a life for herself, we have landed on the new biggest hurdle, which are no longer odds of survival, but odds of having a life that means something to her. I am certain that given the chance and the tools, she will continue to be relentlessly beating those odds.
This is a long road, and I've been told by multiple stroke survivers, healthcare professionals, and caregivers that the first six months and first year are what set the pace for her recovery. Until October 11th my mom was living on her own, taking care of her pup and cat, and we had a date set just days later for us to start planning a round country road trip together. This hit us like a truck.
I am calling on her community, my community, and all of those who have been asking about how she is doing, reading my updates on her progress, and asking how they can help. This is it.
The next few months are full of transitions from rehab to intensive rehab, to board & cares to long term options to set my mom up for her new life. This money will go directly to these transitions and bills that surround her recovery, particularly over the next couple of months as I maneuver this system that is not set up to cover her financial need.
The support from friends and family of my mom, as well as my own, have left me speechless. I did not know that such generosity and unwaivering support was available for us until this all unfolded. I am forever thankful.
Organiser and beneficiary
Cheyenne Barr
Organiser
Berkeley, CA
Darlene Barr
Beneficiary