Bill Bodak's Return Home and Recovery
Donation protected
On January 27th, our Dad was having a great day skiing at Big White with his cousins, outside Kelowna. He had a massive stroke mid-way through a run and was rescued by ski patrol and taken by ambulance to Kelowna General Hospital.
When he got to hospital, it was too late to give him any Stroke related medicines or procedures, the damage to his brain was already done. He was given a 72 hour window where he would likely die due to swelling in his head.
Jill, Will and Shayla (his three kids) as well as his partner Karen and several other family members flew to be with him. It is now 12 days later and he is alive and medically stable. He breaths on his own and is awake some of the time, though he is very tired and in a lot of pain.
He has beaten all the odds and surprised the medical staff here with his resilience. He shows daily potential for improvement and he fights each day to try communicate with us and move his body.
Some strokes are "minor" and result in difficult but manageable deficits of function, require a lot of rehab and impact people for a long time. This stroke has been described as "major" and "catastrophic," meaning that although my Dad beat the odds to stay alive, he has severe brain damage and a lifelong disability. He will have to work incredibly hard to move the right side of his body again or communicate with us at all. Right now he is saying yes and no with some accuracy and learning how to point to simple things. He sometimes tells us whole sentences like, "my thoughts still work," and "this is fucking hard."
The half of his brain that's still working, definitely works. He is in there. Things are just really scrambled. Being here with him for these days has been both terrifying and beautiful. We are focused on all his gains and choosing to work towards every bit of recovery he can reach.
We are living here between the hospital and JoeAnna's house which is an amazing housing support system for people from out of town supporting family members in the Kelowna General Hospital.
The outpouring of love and support for our Dad has been so touching and people are asking what more they can do. For now we feel rather "stuck" here, waiting for the logistics to come through to get him home, where his recovery can actually begin.
Right now we're trying to figure out what supporting my Dad through this time in Kelowna looks like, as well as supporting him when he gets home. People keep asking us, "WHAT DO YOU NEED?"
The answer is really uncomfortable, because no amount of money can fix this. But the truth right now is that his care looks like paying for coffees, meals, cab rides, hotels, airfare and rehab support tools. The access to therapy in this hospital has been limited and frustrating. We have looked to hire private practitioners to come in for physio and speech therapy. We buy cards, socks, electric razors, lotions, blankets, art supplies, Legos, Jenga..... anything we think might engage him with us, or make him more comfortable.
We'd like to buy an iPad because we think he could do basic shapes and word practice with it.
We'd like to buy communication boards and resources for recovery that people offer online.
We are so far away and nobody can offer us a ride, or a bed or a meal.
When we do get him home, we don't know what he could need. Things to support him could look so many different ways depending on how much he is able to recover. Right now he needs 24 hour support and is not left unattended.
The point of this post actually isn't to pressure anyone into sending money. We are taking really good care of him and trying everything we can to engage and support him. The point is to let anyone who is wondering, "WHAT CAN I DO?" know, that there isn't much that anyone can do, other than support whatever he might need- or support us while we're here.
There are so many people out there loving our Dad. And that truly is so helpful.
This is another option, for those who are asking.
Any money that is raised will be used to support us through this time in Kelowna and any excess beyond that will be saved to address any kind of tools, machines, professionals or renovations that might be necessary in the future, which is totally unknown.
My Dad would hate this. All of this. He always helped us- and everyone else. But he is the kindest man, and the very best Dad and so we are opening this avenue up, for people to give if that's what feels right.
All our love.
When he got to hospital, it was too late to give him any Stroke related medicines or procedures, the damage to his brain was already done. He was given a 72 hour window where he would likely die due to swelling in his head.
Jill, Will and Shayla (his three kids) as well as his partner Karen and several other family members flew to be with him. It is now 12 days later and he is alive and medically stable. He breaths on his own and is awake some of the time, though he is very tired and in a lot of pain.
He has beaten all the odds and surprised the medical staff here with his resilience. He shows daily potential for improvement and he fights each day to try communicate with us and move his body.
Some strokes are "minor" and result in difficult but manageable deficits of function, require a lot of rehab and impact people for a long time. This stroke has been described as "major" and "catastrophic," meaning that although my Dad beat the odds to stay alive, he has severe brain damage and a lifelong disability. He will have to work incredibly hard to move the right side of his body again or communicate with us at all. Right now he is saying yes and no with some accuracy and learning how to point to simple things. He sometimes tells us whole sentences like, "my thoughts still work," and "this is fucking hard."
The half of his brain that's still working, definitely works. He is in there. Things are just really scrambled. Being here with him for these days has been both terrifying and beautiful. We are focused on all his gains and choosing to work towards every bit of recovery he can reach.
We are living here between the hospital and JoeAnna's house which is an amazing housing support system for people from out of town supporting family members in the Kelowna General Hospital.
The outpouring of love and support for our Dad has been so touching and people are asking what more they can do. For now we feel rather "stuck" here, waiting for the logistics to come through to get him home, where his recovery can actually begin.
Right now we're trying to figure out what supporting my Dad through this time in Kelowna looks like, as well as supporting him when he gets home. People keep asking us, "WHAT DO YOU NEED?"
The answer is really uncomfortable, because no amount of money can fix this. But the truth right now is that his care looks like paying for coffees, meals, cab rides, hotels, airfare and rehab support tools. The access to therapy in this hospital has been limited and frustrating. We have looked to hire private practitioners to come in for physio and speech therapy. We buy cards, socks, electric razors, lotions, blankets, art supplies, Legos, Jenga..... anything we think might engage him with us, or make him more comfortable.
We'd like to buy an iPad because we think he could do basic shapes and word practice with it.
We'd like to buy communication boards and resources for recovery that people offer online.
We are so far away and nobody can offer us a ride, or a bed or a meal.
When we do get him home, we don't know what he could need. Things to support him could look so many different ways depending on how much he is able to recover. Right now he needs 24 hour support and is not left unattended.
The point of this post actually isn't to pressure anyone into sending money. We are taking really good care of him and trying everything we can to engage and support him. The point is to let anyone who is wondering, "WHAT CAN I DO?" know, that there isn't much that anyone can do, other than support whatever he might need- or support us while we're here.
There are so many people out there loving our Dad. And that truly is so helpful.
This is another option, for those who are asking.
Any money that is raised will be used to support us through this time in Kelowna and any excess beyond that will be saved to address any kind of tools, machines, professionals or renovations that might be necessary in the future, which is totally unknown.
My Dad would hate this. All of this. He always helped us- and everyone else. But he is the kindest man, and the very best Dad and so we are opening this avenue up, for people to give if that's what feels right.
All our love.
Organizer
Jill Bodak
Organizer
Thunder Bay, ON