Dionne's Stroke Recovery Fund

It's been over nine weeks since my sister Dionne suffered a stroke. On Monday Memorial Day 5/27/19, she was at home with her husband Doyle. Just after falling asleep, she was startled awake by her left side tingling and going numb. She went to raise her left arm and sit up in bed and was unable to move. She frantically nudged Doyle with her right arm as he laid next to her. Worriedly she tried to explain her inability to get up, and the phenomena that she was experiencing on her left side. With little convincing necessary Doyle knew he had to get her to the hospital. Suddenly feeling returned and she immediately tried to put her shoes on and get ready to leave. Abruptly, the feeling of tingling, numbness, and loss of ability to move her left side came over her again. She started to feel her face drooping and was noticing her speech was slurring. Doyle struggled to get her up off the floor as her body was conscious and lifeless at the same time. The ambulance rushed her to St. Clare Hospital and determined that it was a series of neurological events and overall known as a stroke. My Mom called me and informed me I needed to try to make it see my sister and that she was in a precarious situation with her blood pressure. By the time I had arrived, she was able to be calm enough to explain what she felt, and as though it was a past occurrence. I came in the room and spunkily said, "Well if you wanted to see me you didn't have to be so dramatic about it- you could have just called!" She smiled, and her face lit up. She looked like the same big sister with the cute tan, peppy ponytail in her hair, and her precious dimples in her cheeks. Dionne said, "Cristel it was so weird. . . Unlike anything, I have ever experienced. I thought I was dying!" I looked for signs of a change in her speech and the drooping of her left side. She looked healthy, and nothing caught my eye as being visible wrong. Her vitals were stable too. Then her smile quickly got covered by her right hand. She began to cry and fearfully exclaimed, "It's happening again!" I watched her hide her eyes. The tears still rolling underneath her hand, those she couldn't hide. That smile faded to an immediate melt. The right side of her lip quivered, but the left lost all life. She spoke differently with a slur. She was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to look at her. I comforted her and got tissues to wipe her tears and then the drool she didn't even know was on her face. My heart sank- she is only 49 years old, she welcomed her first grandbaby this year from her oldest son Josh, and her youngest and only girl Taylor is now expecting. She is needed to help her grown babies with their babies. Will she be able to hold them again? Will she be forever paralyzed on her left side? What would Doyle do to care for her and work every day over an hour away from home? For 48 hours, it was hard to see her blood pressure spike and hear the beeps of the monitors in the hospital room. For those few days, she continued to have no feeling in her left side, she had accidents in the bed, wasn't able to swallow correctly, and when the nurse lifted her left arm, it would just fall. Dionne talked about not feeling whole like apart of her was dead, and she just had to carry it around attached to her. Once her blood pressure was stable, they transported her to Rolla, MO, for inpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy. She since has gained feeling in her left side, is able to walk again, and is making great strides in progress. However, she has a rough road to recovery. She went back into the hospital weeks later with adverse reactions to blood pressure medications. She found out she had high blood pressure unexpectedly, which was the cause for the clot on her brain. Then on July 26th, she had emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder. This campaign is to help offset some of her lost wages and medical costs, until time disability insurance kicks in. On behalf of Dionne, Doyle, Josh, and Taylor, a sincere thank you for all your donations. Please keep Dionne in your thoughts and prayers, in hopes that she will be able to return to work and her Grandma duties soon.
***This campaign is set up by Cristel Boyd on behalf of Dionne Ellsworth, if you want any further information, please reach out to Cristel****