The Stewart's
Donation protected
My parents have always worked hard for everything they have. My Dad did his dream job and was a San Diego Police Officer for over 27 years. On October 29th 2012 he was on his was to work and stopped at an ATM to get money, and on his way back to his Jeep he was confronted by a man with a 45mm, telling him to give him his money you "fing" cop! My dad did as he was told and then the man had my dad turn around and get on his knees while he took my dad's cell phone. Once he took my dad's phone he demanded my dad to lay on his stomach with his head down. Soon after he shot my dad point blank in the head. My dad had felt some urge to move his head, if he didn't the outcome would be drastically different. The bullet had hit my dad's skull and bounced out. Once my dad realized he was alive, he went into the branch of the bank, identified himself as an officer, explained what happened, had them lock the branch down, and call 911.
My dad was taken to a local hospital and needless to say he was a miracle! No bullet fragments, and the bullet literally bounced off his skull! He was from that point on my Superman! The suspects were still on the loose,but thankfull caught on Halloween night.
Sadly my dad had to retire for the force because of this. He couldn't return to the the career he loved because of hypertension, headaches, dizzy spells that he would have. My mom who was by his side during this whole thing lost her job taking care of my dad.
My dad retired from the force after 27 years doing what he loved every day, and that was serving and protecting our beautiful city! There is NO other officer like him!!
My parents were enjoying retirement for a brief time, but on December 1, 2013 while cleaning the black tank from their trailer after a week long Thanksgiving camping trip my dad started vomiting and collapsed. Thank the Lord a neighbor saw him and ran over told my mom and called 911.
My dad suffered a massive stroke. As we were all waiting in the waiting room in the ER, Dr's came in and told us that there was nothing they could do and we needed to say our goodbye's. We were shocked, devistated, how could our rock who is in excellent health now be gone? We spoke to the Neurosurgeon and he told us that we could do surgery but he would be a vegetable, or let him go in his own. My dad would never want to live as a vegetable so my mom made the decision to let him choose.
We stayed by his side all night, the next day my mom asked for a second opinion. The next Neurosurgeon told us that he could put a drain in to relieve some of the pressure. The stroke was caused from an AVM that had ruptured, ironically in the same spot where my dad was shot! We said YES immediately to the drain, and once that was put in my dad started showing improvement!! My mom, sister and I lived at the hospital and on Christmas Day after 25 days in a coma we received a Christmas miracle, my dad had opened his eyes!!!
He had a very long road but he was with us! He had left side paralysis, couldn't breath on his own, but he was awake!! 2 days later he was moved to a different hospital for another month in ICU. He proceeded to get better and stronger, breathing from a trach, using his limbs, starting to communicate, getting some of his left side movement back with help of PT, winning thumb wars!! In Febuary he was moved to a rehab center where they were able to teach him to talk again, get his left side movement back, eat again, and write again. Once strong enough he was transferred to Sharp rehab where they did an AMAZING job working with his cognitive, still focusing on left side strength, PT, OT, and speech. My dad was finally discharged from the hospital on April 11, 2014.
My Superman prevailed again and beat all odds. They told us he would be wheelchair bound, have a trach, feeding tube, catheter, and no use of his left side. Well my dad has none of those and has full function of his left side.
Now I have a totally different dad. A dad who doesn't remember what I said to him 5 minutes before hand, a dad who perseverates if he can't find the smallest thing, a dad who needs to be reminded to take his pills, a dad who asks the same thing over and over, a dad who has to be told to take a shower, get dressed, brush teeth, shave, a dad who needs constant care, a dad who will never get to drive again, a dad who will never get to do the things he LOVED doing like mountain bike riding, atv riding, hunting, shooting, woodworking, a dad who can no longer fix anything around the house because he can't remember and he gets so frustrated with himself. This is all ok because my Superman is here!!
Now my mom the Angel she is has been by my dad's side through this whole thing and is my dad's caregiver. Day in and out she never leaves my dad's side. For almost 39 years of marriage they take their vows to heart! Sickness and in health! She does EVERYTHING in my parents house! From cooking, cleaning to fixing the toilets, and doing all the yard work. She is a saint!
Well this Angel of mine has just been diagnosed with breast cancer on January 12. She has 2 lumps one in the lymphnode and the other in her breast, both cancer. The cancer is deep in the Lympnodes and is metastatic. We don't know the stage yet, as that test takes several weeks. We do know that she will have to have Chemotherapy, radiation, and then surgery to remove the masses. She is looking at a 1-2 year battle.
She has battled cancer before in 1994 having stage 4 cervical cancer. She had a radical hysterectomy and fought it. I know how much of a fighter my mom is and she can do this! She has the support of my dad, sister and myself that will be at ever treatment, appt, and will be caring for her. My mom is the rock of our family, she is my dad's primary care giver, cooks for him, makes sure he takes his pills, showers, shaves, brushes his teeth, takes him to all his Dr appt. she does everything for him. Never ever does she complain that she does this, because she took her vows and she LOVES my dad with all her heart. I admire her compassion, patience, love, and strength.
This is a HUGE shock for our family and we are very upset about this.
During all of these battles my parents have faced one medical bill after another and it has taken a huge toll on them. They need help! My parents are paying an OBSCENE amount for healthcare that was supposed to be included in my dad's retirement but sadly was taken away by the city.
My dad's bills are enormous from his stroke and he still seeks treatment. My mom will now be getting treatment starting in Febuary and her bills will be just the same if not more! Since having to pay for the medical bills my parents are in jeopardy of loosing their house. This is the house they had built for them almost 16 years ago to retire in. They should not have to lose their house because of these events! We need to help them please!!
My parents have worked hard there whole life and have always given to others with no strings attached. They would give the shirts off their back to help someone. They never ask for help and would never ask for this help, so I'm asking for help for them please! The littlest amount can make a big difference! If you know someone that can help please share this, I thank you for that! The littlest amount can make a huge difference.
Thank you for reading my parents story,
Krista Phillips
My dad was taken to a local hospital and needless to say he was a miracle! No bullet fragments, and the bullet literally bounced off his skull! He was from that point on my Superman! The suspects were still on the loose,but thankfull caught on Halloween night.
Sadly my dad had to retire for the force because of this. He couldn't return to the the career he loved because of hypertension, headaches, dizzy spells that he would have. My mom who was by his side during this whole thing lost her job taking care of my dad.
My dad retired from the force after 27 years doing what he loved every day, and that was serving and protecting our beautiful city! There is NO other officer like him!!
My parents were enjoying retirement for a brief time, but on December 1, 2013 while cleaning the black tank from their trailer after a week long Thanksgiving camping trip my dad started vomiting and collapsed. Thank the Lord a neighbor saw him and ran over told my mom and called 911.
My dad suffered a massive stroke. As we were all waiting in the waiting room in the ER, Dr's came in and told us that there was nothing they could do and we needed to say our goodbye's. We were shocked, devistated, how could our rock who is in excellent health now be gone? We spoke to the Neurosurgeon and he told us that we could do surgery but he would be a vegetable, or let him go in his own. My dad would never want to live as a vegetable so my mom made the decision to let him choose.
We stayed by his side all night, the next day my mom asked for a second opinion. The next Neurosurgeon told us that he could put a drain in to relieve some of the pressure. The stroke was caused from an AVM that had ruptured, ironically in the same spot where my dad was shot! We said YES immediately to the drain, and once that was put in my dad started showing improvement!! My mom, sister and I lived at the hospital and on Christmas Day after 25 days in a coma we received a Christmas miracle, my dad had opened his eyes!!!
He had a very long road but he was with us! He had left side paralysis, couldn't breath on his own, but he was awake!! 2 days later he was moved to a different hospital for another month in ICU. He proceeded to get better and stronger, breathing from a trach, using his limbs, starting to communicate, getting some of his left side movement back with help of PT, winning thumb wars!! In Febuary he was moved to a rehab center where they were able to teach him to talk again, get his left side movement back, eat again, and write again. Once strong enough he was transferred to Sharp rehab where they did an AMAZING job working with his cognitive, still focusing on left side strength, PT, OT, and speech. My dad was finally discharged from the hospital on April 11, 2014.
My Superman prevailed again and beat all odds. They told us he would be wheelchair bound, have a trach, feeding tube, catheter, and no use of his left side. Well my dad has none of those and has full function of his left side.
Now I have a totally different dad. A dad who doesn't remember what I said to him 5 minutes before hand, a dad who perseverates if he can't find the smallest thing, a dad who needs to be reminded to take his pills, a dad who asks the same thing over and over, a dad who has to be told to take a shower, get dressed, brush teeth, shave, a dad who needs constant care, a dad who will never get to drive again, a dad who will never get to do the things he LOVED doing like mountain bike riding, atv riding, hunting, shooting, woodworking, a dad who can no longer fix anything around the house because he can't remember and he gets so frustrated with himself. This is all ok because my Superman is here!!
Now my mom the Angel she is has been by my dad's side through this whole thing and is my dad's caregiver. Day in and out she never leaves my dad's side. For almost 39 years of marriage they take their vows to heart! Sickness and in health! She does EVERYTHING in my parents house! From cooking, cleaning to fixing the toilets, and doing all the yard work. She is a saint!
Well this Angel of mine has just been diagnosed with breast cancer on January 12. She has 2 lumps one in the lymphnode and the other in her breast, both cancer. The cancer is deep in the Lympnodes and is metastatic. We don't know the stage yet, as that test takes several weeks. We do know that she will have to have Chemotherapy, radiation, and then surgery to remove the masses. She is looking at a 1-2 year battle.
She has battled cancer before in 1994 having stage 4 cervical cancer. She had a radical hysterectomy and fought it. I know how much of a fighter my mom is and she can do this! She has the support of my dad, sister and myself that will be at ever treatment, appt, and will be caring for her. My mom is the rock of our family, she is my dad's primary care giver, cooks for him, makes sure he takes his pills, showers, shaves, brushes his teeth, takes him to all his Dr appt. she does everything for him. Never ever does she complain that she does this, because she took her vows and she LOVES my dad with all her heart. I admire her compassion, patience, love, and strength.
This is a HUGE shock for our family and we are very upset about this.
During all of these battles my parents have faced one medical bill after another and it has taken a huge toll on them. They need help! My parents are paying an OBSCENE amount for healthcare that was supposed to be included in my dad's retirement but sadly was taken away by the city.
My dad's bills are enormous from his stroke and he still seeks treatment. My mom will now be getting treatment starting in Febuary and her bills will be just the same if not more! Since having to pay for the medical bills my parents are in jeopardy of loosing their house. This is the house they had built for them almost 16 years ago to retire in. They should not have to lose their house because of these events! We need to help them please!!
My parents have worked hard there whole life and have always given to others with no strings attached. They would give the shirts off their back to help someone. They never ask for help and would never ask for this help, so I'm asking for help for them please! The littlest amount can make a big difference! If you know someone that can help please share this, I thank you for that! The littlest amount can make a huge difference.
Thank you for reading my parents story,
Krista Phillips
Organizer
Krista Stewart Phillips
Organizer
Spring Valley, CA
