On May 20th of this year, my wife and life partner Barbara and I were celebrating our forty-second anniversary with a simple day of being home together when she suffered a life-altering ischemic stroke to the left side of her brain, leaving her paralyzed and unable to use her right arm, hand, leg, and foot, as well as causing aphasia—the inability to completely articulate her thoughts and feelings.

Though severely challenged by her circumstances she is completely conscious, remains optimistic, and her sense of humor and the beauty of her essence remain intact. She is thankfully able to communicate through gestures and few words. That said she does have very tough days as she recognizes how tough her journey is.

Barbara is an incredible mother to her three sons, a friend to many, a fantastic cook (she has fed hundreds), an avid gardener, musician, and master ceramic artist who, for the past twenty years has devoted herself to teaching others her love of clay. She was actually doing a kiln firing for her students at the time of the stroke which was left incomplete until she recovers with your help—her friends and family ❤️

We live in a small Mexican village in southern pacific Jalisco and need to relocate Barbara to a facility where she can receive the best care to support her healing including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, as well as cutting-edge stem cell and peptide treatments to enhance her brain's own neuroplastic healing potential.

These therapies, the home care assistants and therapists we need, both at home now and when we relocate to an advanced therapy center are what we asking funding for. We may also need new transportation suitable for wheelchair access. Your donations will be used to fund these essential modalities and procedures to insure Barbara's recovery.

In her first days home from hospital Barbara needed liquids administered through a syringe and had to be spoon-fed soft foods, within days she was able to hold and drink from her own cup and feed herself with her left hand. Every day she progresses, adding new words and beginning to string them together making short sentences. Though her speech is slowly improving, it is a long way from her normal ability and we know she needs a professional speech therapist to support greater recovery so once again we can hear her voice. Unfortunately there is none in our present location.

What's amazing is Barbara remembers lyrics from her favorite songs and can sing along which helps connect more neural pathways toward healing. It's also a deeply emotional experience for her. Barbara feels a lot.

Still largely bed bound, she has been able to raise and bend her right leg and, with assistance, get into a wheelchair to enjoy a different perspective on life and see that everything she now practices repeatedly contributes to the progress needed for optimal recovery.

Our son Zorba arrived to help me the day after she returned home from hospital and we are doing everything we can utilizing local doctors, therapists, and home care angels in our village as well as professional online advice to get her this far along but more skilled therapists in a professional setting are needed as soon as possible. The learning curve has been steep but Barbara has progressed greatly under our care thus far but needs to go further.

These first six months to one year are considered the brain's greatest opportunity for natural healing through its neuroplasticity as it rewires new pathways toward recovery. Barbara has a challenging journey ahead but is still well within the time frame for her to regain full function so please give what your heart can offer to financially support this wonderful woman to once again have the full use of her body and voice so she can continue sharing her vibrant and unending love, artistic skills, and presence with others. ❤️❤️❤️

We hope you can contribute financially and also by sharing this fundraiser with many others in your circle of humanity also on the path of loving-kindness and generosity. ❤️❤️

Our mantra is, Never Give Up, Never Surrender,

Muchas Gracias, Mahalo, y Thank You,

Roy