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In the early hours of Monday, May 2nd, Candace O'Keefe was awakened by her husband, Brian, who was clearly in distress but unable to communicate what was wrong. He stood swaying in the doorway, with his right arm dangling at his side like dead weight. Thankfully, Candace quickly called 911. Brian was taken by ambulance to Hillcrest Hospital, where scans revealed a carotid artery dissection in his neck, leading to a stroke. This stroke was located in the language area of the brain on his left side, affecting his ability to both understand the language he hears and form language into a response.
Brian is the sole wage earner for his family of three, including his wife Candace, and his 9yo daughter Zoe. He works in computers and did digital mapping for many years until being laid off at the start of the pandemic. For the last two years he has done whatever it takes to provide for his family including working at Walmart to help pay the bills.
At the beginning of 2022 he got his dream job. Even while doing digital mapping, Brian is an artist, through and through, and has always loved to design websites. At the beginning of this year he got a job doing just that for a marketing firm. He was shining in his new role and things were looking up for the O'Keefe's after a very tough two years.
Now, after this stroke, doctors tell us that recovery will be long and slow. It could be many months or a year before he can return to work, and that is assuming he regains enough of his lost skills. His doctors have been happy with his improvement so far and we need help to make sure that improvement continues.
Many of us are struggling to find ways to be of service to Brian, Candace, and Zoe. His community has turned out with messages of support and care, hospital visits, transportation, and more. We don't know how Brian's medical situation will unfold. Still, we can be sure that ongoing medical and household expenses will be challenging for the O'Keefe's as Brian works hard to regain his language and motor skills without a source of income.
We can love Brian and his family through this time in various ways; if giving financially is a way that feels right to you, please make your gift here.
Brian is the sole wage earner for his family of three, including his wife Candace, and his 9yo daughter Zoe. He works in computers and did digital mapping for many years until being laid off at the start of the pandemic. For the last two years he has done whatever it takes to provide for his family including working at Walmart to help pay the bills.
At the beginning of 2022 he got his dream job. Even while doing digital mapping, Brian is an artist, through and through, and has always loved to design websites. At the beginning of this year he got a job doing just that for a marketing firm. He was shining in his new role and things were looking up for the O'Keefe's after a very tough two years.
Now, after this stroke, doctors tell us that recovery will be long and slow. It could be many months or a year before he can return to work, and that is assuming he regains enough of his lost skills. His doctors have been happy with his improvement so far and we need help to make sure that improvement continues.
Many of us are struggling to find ways to be of service to Brian, Candace, and Zoe. His community has turned out with messages of support and care, hospital visits, transportation, and more. We don't know how Brian's medical situation will unfold. Still, we can be sure that ongoing medical and household expenses will be challenging for the O'Keefe's as Brian works hard to regain his language and motor skills without a source of income.
We can love Brian and his family through this time in various ways; if giving financially is a way that feels right to you, please make your gift here.