Allen's Stroke Recovery
Donation protected
I truly hope all of us in this world are lucky enough to have one person in our live’s that exemplifies selflessness and kindness to the extent that Allen does for those that know him. At times, to a fault, Allen has given his time, his heart, and his amazing talent, to anyone that needed or could benefit from it. Allen is the best father you’ll ever meet, an amazingly gifted cycling mechanic, massage therapist, and caregiver for his elderly parents. Truly someone we should all aspire to be more like. If you needed anything ever Allen would be there in a minute.
Well, Allen needs us now and it’s time to help him out in his time of great need.
Earlier this month, at the young age of 57-years-old, Allen developed a spontaneous tear in his right internal carotid artery, the one supplying blood to his brain, which lead to a dissection of that artery and compromised blood flow to the right side of his brain. As he lost his left visual field while working in his garage he realized he might be having a stroke and ask his daughter to perform a brief stroke assessment and to call 911. Allen was correct. He was sent to St. Charles Hospital in Bend where he had an emergent procedure to repair the artery.
He awoke in the ICU with a feeding tube in his nose, a catheter in his bladder, and the inability to move the left side of his body. He spent three days in the ICU where he befriended the entire ICU staff and tenaciously fought to relearn how to swallow, void, sit up, and balance on his right leg with the support of a walker.
He spent the next three days in a lower acuity hospital bed where he once again became the nurses' favorite with his positive attitude and relentless efforts to move the left side of his body. He mastered a new swallowing technique so that he could begin to feed himself.
I visited him on the evening of his first day in the new hospital bed. He didn't look over to see me since I was on his left side and his brain was not yet processing the left side of his world, but he knew I was there and gave me his best smile with his right cheek, lips and eye. He told me how psyched his son Cameron was when he sent Cameron a video of him moving his left toe. When I left his room I broke into full sobs despite the doctor scrubs and badge which usually insulate me from this kind of overwhelming emotion.
The next day when I visited I asked Allen what his thoughts were on finances knowing the cascade of medical bills that would be coming and how long even a partial stroke recovery was going to take. In part from his eternal optimism and perhaps in part from the injury to his brain he assured me that he was OK because he still had another paycheck that he hadn't cashed and that he was going to use for his next set of bills.
After three days in the lower acuity hospital bed he met the milestones necessary to move to an inpatient rehabilitation center. He took his first step yesterday. He also gave me his blessing to set up this go-fund-me page.
Setting up this page and donating gives me traction to help right what feels like a terrible wrong. It is an opportunity to augment the beauty of Allen's love of life, commitment to recovery, and commitment to caring for his kids and parents.
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Aris Sophocles, MD
Well, Allen needs us now and it’s time to help him out in his time of great need.
Earlier this month, at the young age of 57-years-old, Allen developed a spontaneous tear in his right internal carotid artery, the one supplying blood to his brain, which lead to a dissection of that artery and compromised blood flow to the right side of his brain. As he lost his left visual field while working in his garage he realized he might be having a stroke and ask his daughter to perform a brief stroke assessment and to call 911. Allen was correct. He was sent to St. Charles Hospital in Bend where he had an emergent procedure to repair the artery.
He awoke in the ICU with a feeding tube in his nose, a catheter in his bladder, and the inability to move the left side of his body. He spent three days in the ICU where he befriended the entire ICU staff and tenaciously fought to relearn how to swallow, void, sit up, and balance on his right leg with the support of a walker.
He spent the next three days in a lower acuity hospital bed where he once again became the nurses' favorite with his positive attitude and relentless efforts to move the left side of his body. He mastered a new swallowing technique so that he could begin to feed himself.
I visited him on the evening of his first day in the new hospital bed. He didn't look over to see me since I was on his left side and his brain was not yet processing the left side of his world, but he knew I was there and gave me his best smile with his right cheek, lips and eye. He told me how psyched his son Cameron was when he sent Cameron a video of him moving his left toe. When I left his room I broke into full sobs despite the doctor scrubs and badge which usually insulate me from this kind of overwhelming emotion.
The next day when I visited I asked Allen what his thoughts were on finances knowing the cascade of medical bills that would be coming and how long even a partial stroke recovery was going to take. In part from his eternal optimism and perhaps in part from the injury to his brain he assured me that he was OK because he still had another paycheck that he hadn't cashed and that he was going to use for his next set of bills.
After three days in the lower acuity hospital bed he met the milestones necessary to move to an inpatient rehabilitation center. He took his first step yesterday. He also gave me his blessing to set up this go-fund-me page.
Setting up this page and donating gives me traction to help right what feels like a terrible wrong. It is an opportunity to augment the beauty of Allen's love of life, commitment to recovery, and commitment to caring for his kids and parents.
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Aris Sophocles, MD
Organizer and beneficiary
Aris Sophocles
Organizer
Bend, OR
Allen Lucas
Beneficiary
