On February 10, my dad Mike, had a stroke on the left side of his brain. This means the entire right side of his body has been affected. He spent 8 days in the hospital and is now in a rehab center. Some positives are he has retained speech, most of his cognitive abilities, his appetite, and his stubbornness.

My dad has always put the needs of others before his own. He has been a single father for 12 years, never complaining and always making sure Nick and I had what we needed. He’s volunteered years of his time to youth baseball players at Crescent Little League and is always willing to help anyone he meets. As I sit here and write this he’s telling me to eat the other half of his sandwich and continuously let’s me eat his ice cream.

The next steps in his treatment are physical, occupational, and speech therapy where they will work on regaining movement on his right side and his cognitive skills. This will be a long and challenging road to recovery. He will be doing 2-3 hours of physical therapy a day for an unknown amount of time.

My family and I are overjoyed with the amount of people who have reached out and offered support. We are so thankful to everyone for daily check ins. Thank you isn’t enough to express our gratitude. Our dad is receiving all the messages and definitely feels the love, support, and words of encouragement from everyone.

Since we don’t know when and if he will regain independence we have started a gofundme in order to help with medical costs and bills. We will do our best to keep everyone updated on his progress. Thank you again to everyone.