Brad's Therapy Fundraiser
Donation protected
We are raising money to fund therapies needed for Brad's Stroke Recovery!
In 2017 my father Brad had a stroke. He had been carving the Easter turkey surrounded by 30 family and friends when I noticed him slump at the counter. 30 minutes later he was in emergency care at Royal Columbian Hospital. He spent the next 4 months in the hospital recovering and building basic skills like sitting, drinking, and even standing. By the end of the year, through physical therapy he was able to walk and even climb stairs. At the beginning of 2018, seeing the immediate need of rehabilitation therapies beyond what is funded by hospital programs, I started a GoFundMe campaign with the initial goal of raising $5000 towards those therapies. We hit that target in 18 hours. Our total projected costs for 2018 were $12000 and we achieved that in 1 week. As we approach the end of the year we are able to assess the actual costs associated with therapy in 2018 and set goals for next year. Therapies in 2018 at Neuromotion and Swingle Clinic cost just shy of $17000 and every dollar was well spent.
At Neuromotion Brad has learned how to roll over in bed. He's been able to regain his balance and control over his leg enough to walk; at first with assistance and now independently with and without a cane. He can step over curbs and ascend and descend stairs. Thanks to your funding of our Neuromotion therapy, Brad can live in his house again and not be confined to a chair. Through Neuromotion in 2019 our hope was to increase Brad's independence and self sufficiency. His left hand is still recovering and he hopes to be able to regain control over fine movements this year, to tie his shoes and cut his own food. Brad has established routines that have helped him regain independence on a day to day basis but there is still a long way to go
One of the biggest struggles post-stroke has been the mental fatigue that Brad has felt. The Swingle Clinic has helped him with his mental clarity. They have given him strategies to fight mental fatigue and provided him with treatment to help stabilize brain-waves using biofeedback therapy. We are thankful for the strategies he has learned through Swingle, but the cost has been a prohibitive factor and we have not been able to continue with this therapy in the past few months.
Increased Physical movement and abilities has been one of the most important areas of recovery for Brad this year, mostly due to the success of the Fraser Valley Aquatic Rehab. Through FVAR Brad has been able to gain confidence in walking independently by practicing in a buoyant state with trained therapists. In 2020 the hope is to have him swim independently as well in order to strengthen his arm.
In addition to these therapies, your funding has also helped pay for physical mobility aids, medication, and parking at these facilities. The improvement we've seen has been remarkable but there is still a long way to go.
In 2020 we will continue with Neuromotion and the FVAR. The anticipated cost for 2020 is $14 000, added to the $8380 raised last year brings our total goal to just over $22 000. This would allow Brad to attend Neromotion and Aquatic Therapy on a weekly basis. We were blown away by everyone's generosity over the past 2 years and are grateful of the continued support and love we've been shown. If we can fund therapy in part or in full this year, Brad will be that much closer to a full recovery.
If you are interested in seeing the updates from the past year and in the future, please follow the link to our facebook page...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/942153172554398/
All of the funds donated will be used for these therapies.
Thank you so much.
In 2017 my father Brad had a stroke. He had been carving the Easter turkey surrounded by 30 family and friends when I noticed him slump at the counter. 30 minutes later he was in emergency care at Royal Columbian Hospital. He spent the next 4 months in the hospital recovering and building basic skills like sitting, drinking, and even standing. By the end of the year, through physical therapy he was able to walk and even climb stairs. At the beginning of 2018, seeing the immediate need of rehabilitation therapies beyond what is funded by hospital programs, I started a GoFundMe campaign with the initial goal of raising $5000 towards those therapies. We hit that target in 18 hours. Our total projected costs for 2018 were $12000 and we achieved that in 1 week. As we approach the end of the year we are able to assess the actual costs associated with therapy in 2018 and set goals for next year. Therapies in 2018 at Neuromotion and Swingle Clinic cost just shy of $17000 and every dollar was well spent.
At Neuromotion Brad has learned how to roll over in bed. He's been able to regain his balance and control over his leg enough to walk; at first with assistance and now independently with and without a cane. He can step over curbs and ascend and descend stairs. Thanks to your funding of our Neuromotion therapy, Brad can live in his house again and not be confined to a chair. Through Neuromotion in 2019 our hope was to increase Brad's independence and self sufficiency. His left hand is still recovering and he hopes to be able to regain control over fine movements this year, to tie his shoes and cut his own food. Brad has established routines that have helped him regain independence on a day to day basis but there is still a long way to go
One of the biggest struggles post-stroke has been the mental fatigue that Brad has felt. The Swingle Clinic has helped him with his mental clarity. They have given him strategies to fight mental fatigue and provided him with treatment to help stabilize brain-waves using biofeedback therapy. We are thankful for the strategies he has learned through Swingle, but the cost has been a prohibitive factor and we have not been able to continue with this therapy in the past few months.
Increased Physical movement and abilities has been one of the most important areas of recovery for Brad this year, mostly due to the success of the Fraser Valley Aquatic Rehab. Through FVAR Brad has been able to gain confidence in walking independently by practicing in a buoyant state with trained therapists. In 2020 the hope is to have him swim independently as well in order to strengthen his arm.
In addition to these therapies, your funding has also helped pay for physical mobility aids, medication, and parking at these facilities. The improvement we've seen has been remarkable but there is still a long way to go.
In 2020 we will continue with Neuromotion and the FVAR. The anticipated cost for 2020 is $14 000, added to the $8380 raised last year brings our total goal to just over $22 000. This would allow Brad to attend Neromotion and Aquatic Therapy on a weekly basis. We were blown away by everyone's generosity over the past 2 years and are grateful of the continued support and love we've been shown. If we can fund therapy in part or in full this year, Brad will be that much closer to a full recovery.
If you are interested in seeing the updates from the past year and in the future, please follow the link to our facebook page...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/942153172554398/
All of the funds donated will be used for these therapies.
Thank you so much.
Organizer and beneficiary
Brandon AlexanderBartsch
Organizer
Langley, BC
Marlene Bartsch
Beneficiary