Help Linda Hilker's Family Recover
The members and retirees of Wisconsin Professional Employees Council (WPEC, Local 4848) were shocked to learn of the trials that retired steward and activist Linda Hilker and her family have endured for the past sixteen months.
Linda's daughter, Hillary Knobloch, had a near fatal stroke that left her cognitively intact, but required a year of intensive rehabilitation. Unfortunately insurance only covered one month of rehab, leaving Linda and her husband Jim with a bill for $190,000.
They appreciate the help they have already received from their family, friends, and neighbors. WPEC, by resolution at its 2016 convention, is reaching out to Linda's former co-workers and labor activists who are just finding out about these events and want to join the effort to ease the financial burden on Linda and Jim.
Linda will always be known in the annals of WPEC for designing, printing, and giving away the first ever "Recall Walker" bumper stickers. As a steward, Linda was always there to help. Thank you for your support in returning that generosity.
Linda's summary: Hillary Knobloch suffered a brain bleed on December 9, 2014. It was caused by a congenital malformation of veins and arteries in her brain called an arterial venous malformation (AVM). Technically, she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. The malformation decided to burst that day and put tremendous pressure on her brain stem. Her chances of survival were slim.
But the good news is that she survived and the cognitive portion of her brain was undamaged. She's still smart and funny and remains a political junkie. The bad news is that the portion of her brain which controls motor skills (speech, balance and coordination) was damaged, but her U.W. brain surgeon was confident that with the proper rehabilitation, she could fully recover.
After three months in hospitals she moved to the Clearview Brain Injury Center (CBIC) in Juneau, WI and started a very intensive brain injury rehabilitation program. She has to relearn everything: speaking, swallowing, smiling, sitting, standing, walking, dressing, writing, eating and texting.
As parents we had no choice but to get her the best care possible. Medical insurance paid for one month of rehabilitation and suggested that after that we put her in a nursing home. We had no choice but to pay for her rehabilitation.
She came home to her cat, dog and partner in December 2015, exactly one year and one week after her “brain explosion.” She attends an adaptive fitness program at the U.W. natatorium twice a week, and receives physical and occupational therapies through her health insurance.
Hill is still unable to walk on her own, but it won’t be long. It will be a great freedom for her when she can use the bathroom and make a sandwich by herself. We are hoping for a complete recovery. And some day she’ll be back in the work force. She’s a science person and was working in a soil and water testing laboratory when this happened. She talks about pursuing a master’s in in bio-technology.
