Bucks for Bekah: Stroke Rehabilitation

On the morning of March 10th, Bekah & Austin were hanging out at home like any other normal day. She mentioned that she had the spins and was getting a migraine. Although migraines aren't uncommon for her, her symptoms got worse as the day progressed. Austin regularly checked on her and during one of those times, he noticed that she was slurring her words and her right side was paralyzed. Austin rushed Bekah to the ER and after some tests, they found that she was suffering a major stroke and had a blood clot in her brain in her Basilar Artery, which supplies blood flow to her brain stem. They also discovered that her stroke was due to Bilateral Vertebral Dissection. Meaning that the arteries that thread up through her spinal cord tore. The body's natural response to control bleeding is to clot. And because the clot was restricting blood flow to her brain, that is what caused her stroke. Her left vertebral artery was 100% blocked and her right artery was 80% blocked.  She was rushed from Providence to Swedish Cherry Hill where they were able to successfully dissolve all of the blood clot. Her left artery is still 100% blocked and they were able to open up her right artery to have about 60-70% functionality. As many MRIs and CT Scans were done, doctors saw that there was brain damage from the stroke to her cerebellum in both hemispheres. More-so on the right than the left. It was and still is unclear what damage is permanent and what will heal with time and rehabilitation. At this time, we were also told that Bekah's artery tears were caused by a genetic condition called Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD, more on that later). When the brain has any kind of trauma, its natural response is to swell. In people who are 60+, there is room for the brain to safely swell, as their brains have atrophied (shrunk in size) over time. Because Bekah is young and has a healthy brain, she had to have a procedure called a craniectomy on 3/11. In this procedure, they removed a small portion of the back of her skull to allow her brain to safely swell and not cause additional damage to other parts of her brain. This is a standard procedure with a high success rate for stroke patients. Bekah's surgery was successful, as her strength and mobility increased daily. Bekah stayed in ICU for a little over a week and continued to improve daily that she was moved to a less critical area of ICU for the remainder of her stay at Swedish (through 3/23). On 3/23, Bekah got transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation center in Everett where she is currently. She makes strides everyday and we are so thankful that she is still with us. The road will be very long with hard days ahead. After her medical team deems she is well enough to go home, she will have home health care until she is strong enough to do outpatient rehab 2x/week. This is her long term plan for physical recovery.She has a follow-up appt in May for another CT Scan to monitor the swelling in her brain as well as a long-term treatment plan for for FMD. Many friends and family have asked how to help and we thought that this is the greatest way to support Bekah. In order for insurance to kick in at 100%, she needs to meet her annual out-of-pocket expense for this year ($7350). This is tough, as she no longer has an income and will not be able to work for an indefinite period of time. Once this number has been met, anything above and beyond that will pay her existing bills (car, phone, additional medical expenses, etc). This is also in combination with other means to help lighten her financial load. We want Bekah to completely focus on getting well and anything that you donate helps towards that goal. As the days go on, we will try to regularly post updates of her progress. We are already so thankful for the progress she's made and is continuing to make. Please keep in mind that when you donate, GoFundMe takes 2.9% + $.30 of each donation for their overhead costs. While we understand that necessary charge, each penny counts. We thank you in advance for considering this cost when choosing to donate. On behalf of Bekah, we thank you so much for taking the time to read her story and support her in such a tangible way!  Love: Austin Allen, Grady & Aisha Bone, and the Ewing Family