Hello all. I am raising funds to help my dad with newfound medical expenses. My dad has always been a very strong-willed and independent man. He is what you think of when you think of a classic man's man: never cries, tall, broad, tons of muscle, has had a job every day of his life since he was 14 years old, mostly construction and very strenuous activities, but never complains about it because working is just what the man does to provide for his family, and he provided for 8 children who are all now grown. He is very old school; he is 62 years old. I have fully believed my entire life that he was absolutely indestructible, until 7 days ago when he had a stroke.

He was just released from the hospital, but he can't walk, so he needs a wheelchair, making his home inaccessible to him. We need to get up the funds to have a wheelchair ramp built at his home as well as other mobility modifications that need to be done in the house so he can move around, or be moved around, more freely. Also, the meds he was put on in the hospital are very expensive. He has been managing his diabetes on his own for years and doing a great job of it, but with the stroke and the chances of another one happening, they put him on insulin. His insulin injection pen costs $90 and only lasts him for 2 days, so it's costing him several hundred a week for insulin alone, plus the cost of the other meds.

He also has bills to pay and now he cannot work because he doesn't have function in the left side of his body, so we are also raising money to help cover his bills for the next month or two until he can get his disability approved. Also, the doctors suggested he go to a rehab facility where they can work with him daily on regaining function in the left side of his body. It's an extremely hard thing to do on your own without the proper help, as well as having nurses to help him do everyday activities that he is embarrassed to have his family help him do. Right now the family is on rotation taking care of him in shifts but we are not medical professionals and having his children help him in the ways that he needs to be helped, makes him feel helpless and useless. He is the strongest man I have ever known so seeing him feel this way tears me in two. He feels like a burden to us no matter how much we try to reassure him that we will NEVER see it that way. But that goes back to him being a classic, strong, independent, man's man.

But his health insurance will not cover the rehab, so if we get enough money raised, that is a priority as opposed to a nurse coming out once a week and helping him stretch. The rehab is best, not only for his chances at regaining function, but also for his chances of coming out of this with a shred of dignity intact. We actually need 10-15 thousand to get all of this done, but I figured we could start small and work our way up. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. If you can't donate, please share the page and ask all your friends to share too so we have a better chance of being seen by someone who is able to donate. My dad has spent his entire life taking care of everyone around him and now it's our turn to take care of him, we just need a little help to be able to do it.