Support for James

James is a kind, fun-loving, 17 old kid that loves all genres of music and playing basketball with his friends. His friends would describe him as a big teddy bear who is always there for them and his family.  On Friday January 31st, James went in for a routine wisdom teeth removal procedure; he was fine during and after the procedure. When his parents couldn't get him to wake up a few hours later, he was taken by ambulance to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) in San Antonio, Tx, where a CT scan confirmed that James suffered a stroke. Early the next morning, he was medevaced, with his mom, to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, where doctors confirmed he had a stroke due to a blood clot in his brain. On 2 Feb, he underwent emergency surgery, decompression craniectomy, to relieve the swelling in his brain. Shortly after surgery, he was put in a medically induced coma to help with the healing process. On 7 Feb, they started pulling back on medication to wake him. By the next day, he finally started opening his eyes for longer periods of time. He is now awake, he moves his left side really well. He will need months of rehabilitation, physical, occupational and speech therapy to move his right side, re-learn to walk and speak; he may also have issues with his sight. James’s doctors are first-rate, yet realistic, more surgery is ahead; the bottom line is that James’ road to recovery will be long—many months under the best of scenarios. Just the day before, James spent time with his friends and family and showed no symptoms of distress; this sudden turn of events has left the family devastated. As you might imagine, this catastrophic medical situation puts the entire family on the financial brink. After insurance coverage, the remaining medical costs, rehabilitation, and support expenses will create a life-altering burden of debt. This fundraiser has been established to ease this burden so that the family can focus on James’ healing and return to a sense of normalcy. Please give what you can. And if you cannot give, please share James' story.  Most importantly, we ask that everyone keep praying for James and his family!