Donation protected
In the photograph shown, Simon and I were visiting the spot where he had proposed to me. We were seeing it together for the first time with the beautiful fall foliage. It was breathtaking, and we will never forget it.
I had always wanted to share the season of autumn with him, and we chose to head to Indiana to do so. Simon suggested the weekend, so that we could surprise my mother on her birthday. The surprise went without a hitch.
The following day, we took our nieces to the children's museum with Simon insistent upon paying. He ran along the ramps with his nieces, just eager as they were to explore the next exhibit. That evening, he played with them without stop, his face full of joy from their spirit and laughter.
We headed home at the close of the weekend, to return to our daily life with work on Monday morning.
Monday, October 26th went as expected, me at school with my kindergarteners and Simon catching up on projects at the office. Monday evening, he called to let me know that he was wrapping up things but he planned to visit his parents, namely his mother, before heading home. She had been admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay while we had been out of town. He was planning on picking up some supplies for his mum's tea parlor to help out. She had been resting after her hospital stay.
However, things did not go as planned. A co-worker came into his office to discuss some plans for a project. Simon told her that he was not feeling well. After asking him how he felt or what was wrong, Simon tried to tell her. However, his words came out garbled. He was suddenly unable to find the words to communicate his feelings; he had lost his ability to speak. Immediately, his co-worker called 9-1-1 as she knew he was experiencing a stroke. She then yelled for help and stayed by his side as he learned that he also could no longer move the right side of his body and began to panic. She tried to calm him by repeating, "It's okay. I have called for help. I will call your wife. Just try to relax. Help is on the way."
He was quickly seen by paramedics, who contacted a stroke unit ambulance, informing them of his condition. They met in transit, and he was transferred to the special ambulance where he began to receive specified attention for his stroke, including a mobile CT scan to learn of the cause and the severity of the bleed.
It was a medium size (40 cc) hemorrhagic stroke. It is an inner cranial hemorrhage (ICH) in the left hemisphere of the brain which controls the right side of the body as well as speech and language. The bleed is believed to be caused by undiagnosed high blood pressure. The bleed happened when blood vessels broke down over a period of time. The bleed is right in the middle of the area that controls the ability to understand speech and produce language. He has experienced muscle weakness on the right side of his body due to the bleed. It is affecting his ability to move his right leg, right arm and the right side of his face.
The doctors are still unable to assess the full extent of the damage for multiple reasons. For one, he has tracheal ventilation and cannot produce sound at this time. Additionally, he has been bed ridden has we have tried to control his vitals such as heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level. Furthermore, he has not been further assessed or moved out of the ICU because he is still fighting a Staph Infection that took up residency in his lungs which has caused pneumonia.
Financially, we have submitted a short term disability claim. We are waiting to hear if his claim will be approved. If he is not approved, his income and insurance coverage stops in two weeks. If he is approved, he will be paid for another 2 months and 2 weeks. Additionally, he will be covered on insurance until January 31st. Beginning on this date, I will need to start paying out of pocket for his insurance coverage.
He did not have long term disability coverage, so this is not an option. I have an interview on Nov 20th to apply for disability through Social Security. I have heard it is a difficult process to be approved for disability.
My income stops after the end of Thanksgiving break, however, my FMLA protects my position through Feb. 9th. Thankfully, I will be covered on insurance until this date, without additional pay, even though I will not be receiving any income. My insurance policy only covers me at this time. I hope to return to work after Thanksgiving or Christmas break... depending on his progress and stability. I wish I could stay off of work longer to be by his side, but I have to work at least part time (PT), so that I can cover us on insurance. We have been informed that we do not qualify for Medicaid.
His road to recovery is going to be long and costly, both in material and spiritual needs. From my understanding, his insurance will cover 60 days, or 2 months, in an inpatient rehabilitation center. However, in his condition, the doctors have predicted that he will need 6 months to a full year, or 12 months, to recover... possibly longer. He deserves the best quality care and the support of an acute inpatient rehab, so that he can recover to be best of his ability. With this, I ask for your support.
If you are seeing this and you are a friend or family member of Simon’s, you know he has been struck down in his prime by a devastating stroke. You are among the lucky who had the opportunity to know him, his kind heart, giving nature, and care for others... so much so that he seldom puts himself first. He always tries to be there with whatever you need before you can ask... a chair pulled out, a napkin at breakfast, or a hand off the floor. He loves to make others laugh, even putting his pride aside to do so. His spirit is contagious when you are around him. To you I say, give what you can.
If you are one of Simon’s co-workers, you know his dedication to his job was second to none. Throughout his many years at Brown & Gay Engineers his commitment and top quality output made him a star employee. He provided invaluable mentoring to those he guided and the finest of attention to detail to those who called upon his department for projects. To you I say, give what you can.
If you are a gamer and you are seeing this, it is because one of our own is in need. Simon has been an RPG enthusiast since 1st Edition D&D. Please take this time to consider the worldwide circle of tabletop players as a family, one in which we all have a chance to support each other through efforts such as this. To you I say, give what you can.
I had always wanted to share the season of autumn with him, and we chose to head to Indiana to do so. Simon suggested the weekend, so that we could surprise my mother on her birthday. The surprise went without a hitch.
The following day, we took our nieces to the children's museum with Simon insistent upon paying. He ran along the ramps with his nieces, just eager as they were to explore the next exhibit. That evening, he played with them without stop, his face full of joy from their spirit and laughter.
We headed home at the close of the weekend, to return to our daily life with work on Monday morning.
Monday, October 26th went as expected, me at school with my kindergarteners and Simon catching up on projects at the office. Monday evening, he called to let me know that he was wrapping up things but he planned to visit his parents, namely his mother, before heading home. She had been admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay while we had been out of town. He was planning on picking up some supplies for his mum's tea parlor to help out. She had been resting after her hospital stay.
However, things did not go as planned. A co-worker came into his office to discuss some plans for a project. Simon told her that he was not feeling well. After asking him how he felt or what was wrong, Simon tried to tell her. However, his words came out garbled. He was suddenly unable to find the words to communicate his feelings; he had lost his ability to speak. Immediately, his co-worker called 9-1-1 as she knew he was experiencing a stroke. She then yelled for help and stayed by his side as he learned that he also could no longer move the right side of his body and began to panic. She tried to calm him by repeating, "It's okay. I have called for help. I will call your wife. Just try to relax. Help is on the way."
He was quickly seen by paramedics, who contacted a stroke unit ambulance, informing them of his condition. They met in transit, and he was transferred to the special ambulance where he began to receive specified attention for his stroke, including a mobile CT scan to learn of the cause and the severity of the bleed.
It was a medium size (40 cc) hemorrhagic stroke. It is an inner cranial hemorrhage (ICH) in the left hemisphere of the brain which controls the right side of the body as well as speech and language. The bleed is believed to be caused by undiagnosed high blood pressure. The bleed happened when blood vessels broke down over a period of time. The bleed is right in the middle of the area that controls the ability to understand speech and produce language. He has experienced muscle weakness on the right side of his body due to the bleed. It is affecting his ability to move his right leg, right arm and the right side of his face.
The doctors are still unable to assess the full extent of the damage for multiple reasons. For one, he has tracheal ventilation and cannot produce sound at this time. Additionally, he has been bed ridden has we have tried to control his vitals such as heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level. Furthermore, he has not been further assessed or moved out of the ICU because he is still fighting a Staph Infection that took up residency in his lungs which has caused pneumonia.
Financially, we have submitted a short term disability claim. We are waiting to hear if his claim will be approved. If he is not approved, his income and insurance coverage stops in two weeks. If he is approved, he will be paid for another 2 months and 2 weeks. Additionally, he will be covered on insurance until January 31st. Beginning on this date, I will need to start paying out of pocket for his insurance coverage.
He did not have long term disability coverage, so this is not an option. I have an interview on Nov 20th to apply for disability through Social Security. I have heard it is a difficult process to be approved for disability.
My income stops after the end of Thanksgiving break, however, my FMLA protects my position through Feb. 9th. Thankfully, I will be covered on insurance until this date, without additional pay, even though I will not be receiving any income. My insurance policy only covers me at this time. I hope to return to work after Thanksgiving or Christmas break... depending on his progress and stability. I wish I could stay off of work longer to be by his side, but I have to work at least part time (PT), so that I can cover us on insurance. We have been informed that we do not qualify for Medicaid.
His road to recovery is going to be long and costly, both in material and spiritual needs. From my understanding, his insurance will cover 60 days, or 2 months, in an inpatient rehabilitation center. However, in his condition, the doctors have predicted that he will need 6 months to a full year, or 12 months, to recover... possibly longer. He deserves the best quality care and the support of an acute inpatient rehab, so that he can recover to be best of his ability. With this, I ask for your support.
If you are seeing this and you are a friend or family member of Simon’s, you know he has been struck down in his prime by a devastating stroke. You are among the lucky who had the opportunity to know him, his kind heart, giving nature, and care for others... so much so that he seldom puts himself first. He always tries to be there with whatever you need before you can ask... a chair pulled out, a napkin at breakfast, or a hand off the floor. He loves to make others laugh, even putting his pride aside to do so. His spirit is contagious when you are around him. To you I say, give what you can.
If you are one of Simon’s co-workers, you know his dedication to his job was second to none. Throughout his many years at Brown & Gay Engineers his commitment and top quality output made him a star employee. He provided invaluable mentoring to those he guided and the finest of attention to detail to those who called upon his department for projects. To you I say, give what you can.
If you are a gamer and you are seeing this, it is because one of our own is in need. Simon has been an RPG enthusiast since 1st Edition D&D. Please take this time to consider the worldwide circle of tabletop players as a family, one in which we all have a chance to support each other through efforts such as this. To you I say, give what you can.
Organizer
Lauren McGlone
Organizer
Richmond, TX