Assistance for Terry and Allyson McNish

Hey there, as I am sure most people are aware by now, my Mom, Allyson McNish, suffered a major stroke on the evening of Thursday September 23rd. I am starting this gofundme to help ease some of the financial burdens of my parents.

There have been many costs associated with this incident which include hotels, parking, gas prices (driving between Winnipeg, Brandon and their farm located near Strathclair) and general expenses for the two weeks she was in HSC in Winnipeg, and still ongoing with her now at the BRHC in Brandon. There are also costs from missed work by Mom of course, and also, as Dad was absent from work while she was being treated in Winnipeg, and is now only working part time as he is in the hospital with Mom between 3-6 hours daily. He has been deemed her essential care provider due to the fact that Mom has PTSD from being chased and attacked in the Hamiota hospital years ago, and is now scared of being in a hospital. She has made huge improvements with his continuous support there by her side, and as she continues to recover, there will be costs associated with home care and renovations to the house for when Mom is eventually able to come home from the hospital.

On top of everything that our family has already endured, our neighbour at the farm decided to set a large portion of our land on fire this past Tuesday, October 19th. However, he refutes starting the fire, leaving us no financial recourse for this. This is the third time since the spring that this has occurred at his hands. This caused significant damage to the sheep pen, knocking out hundreds of fence posts and sheep wire, which is at the very least between 5-6k+ in damages alone, not including the land. With the damage to the land, we'll have to start feeding the sheep bales earlier this year, instead of letting them graze that field as originally planned, resulting in even more expenses.

Background (September 23/21)

It was approximately 7:30PM, Mom had just been outside putting her chickens in for the night. When she came in, Dad said she made an odd noise. When he looked over as she was tending to one of her chickens, her right arm went limp and she couldn't speak, she was having a stroke. Dad called 911, unfortunately they didn't get to the farm until 8:20PM. At this point, they brought her to the BRHC in Brandon. They went through the stroke protocols and found a blood clot in her carotid artery, it wasn't looking good. The Neurologist and Neurosurgeon in Winnipeg said she needed to be transported there immediately, so they arranged transport. This unfortunately took longer than anyone had hoped, and she finally got to HSC in Winnipeg at 1:45AM Friday morning October 24th.

My dad and I followed the ambulance there, and when we got there they told us the stroke had spread worse during that time. They informed us that she would likely never talk again, as they found another bigger clot on the right side of the brain and they had to operate on her immediately. The Neurologist informed us that this was a very risky life or death procedure, but it was in her best interest. He asked for our consent to operate and so we gave it. They wouldn't let us see her before they operated and so we checked into a hotel for the night and waited for a call with an update. At 5:30am the neurosurgeon called. He told us the procedure went better than expected, and she was stable and sleeping.

Up until the Monday post surgery, Mom was on a feeding tube, unable to move, swallow, etc. Since then, she has made huge improvements both physically and verbally. She is still very confused, (can't type on an iPad or anything); the part of the brain that controls all of that is dead, and so we're unsure of how much she'll regain, but we'll continue to work with her and make sure she gets the best care possible, and have faith that she'll keep recovering.

She was in HSC in Winnipeg for the 2.5 weeks following the stroke, and now she's been at the BRHC in Brandon since. As mentioned before, these have been very hard times, both emotionally and financially, for my family and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Therefore, I am hoping to at least ease some of the financial stress off my parents. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers, and everything else, and thank you to everyone that has reached out. Please keep my Mom in your prayers as she continues to heal, and thank you for anything you are willing to give, every bit counts. Love you all!