ICU RN, Taylor Ross Road to Recovery

Hello, my name is Cheryl Thomas, and I am fundraising for Taylor Ross. Taylor Ross is an experienced registered nurse for intensive care, Telemetry, and Neurology Unit patients and a single mother to her 9-year-old son. On May 26, 2021, Taylor fell victim to an Ischemic Stroke at 30 years old. On the evening of May 25th, Taylor completed a twelve-hour shift as an ICU nurse. Once she arrived home, she prepared her son for school, dropped him off at 7:00 am, and immediately returned home. She planned to begin her regular after-work routine of showering, eating breakfast, and taking a nap. Taylor would typically shower immediately after work due to COVID. Taylor remembers feeling nauseated, thinking she may have food poisoning from something that was eaten earlier. The last thing she remembers is preparing to take a shower. Taylor went into the bathroom, collapsed, and fell unconscious. She was unsure how long she had been out. Taylor faintly remembers her phone ringing and her friend on the other line stating that her speech was jumbled. The friend immediately called Taylor’s mother and said she needed to go and check on her because she did not sound well, she was confused, and something was wrong with her speech. Taylor’s mother called her immediately. She could tell something was very bad, then called 911 and rushed to the house to check on her. Taylor’s mother, the ambulance, and the fire trucks arrived simultaneously. They found her on the bathroom floor, and it was apparent she had suffered a stroke. Looking back at the timeframe, Taylor feels the stroke occurred around 9:30 – 10:00 am after her mother left for work. She was home for approximately four hours alone, struggling before help arrived.

Taylor was rushed to the nearest hospital, which also happened to be where she worked. Taylor was a patient now, with her ICU co-workers taking care of her. Once Taylor was well enough, she transferred to an inpatient acute rehabilitation center. Her total stay was nine weeks before she was able to return home. Taylor is on the road to recovery, but it has been challenging. She has substantial medical bills exceeding $80,000 and is now in a custody battle for her son since her stroke.

Taylor has had custody of her son since birth. At the time of her stroke, he was seven in a half. She is his primary caretaker and provides for all his financial expenses. Initially, she could not talk or walk after her stroke and had lost complete function of the right side of her body. She has regained the ability to speak and can now speak fluently and articulately. She has accomplished walking without assistance after eight months of therapy and has no cognitive impairment. Unfortunately, the stroke has left her with limited use of her right arm and hand. She continues in ongoing physical therapy.

Although the road has been difficult, Taylor’s challenge is far from over. She hopes to return to work as an RN Case Manager, Telephonic RN, Utilization Review RN, Triage RN, etc. Taylor would love to have a spinner knob for her steering wheel and a left-foot accelerator. We hope to raise $100,000.00 to assist with medical and legal expenses.