Debbie's Stroke Story & Recovery Support

On June 26, 2024, my mother, Debbie, suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot in her brain. While at home, I recognized her slurred speech, left side weakness, confusion and immediately called for help.

She was admitted to The Methodist Hospital in the medical center of Houston, TX, which is about a 25 mile commute from our house in Rosharon. Upon arrival, she had a procedure to remove the blood clot, which was successful. However, her heart rhythm has been abnormal so she is also under the care of a cardiologist and continues to show weakness in her left side as well as some additional, minor neurological concerns. My mom will be learning to walk with a walker, receive physical therapy and occupational therapy in the coming weeks or months - we still are unsure how long, but the plan is to transfer her to Inpatient Therapy at TIRR Memorial upon discharge. The good news is that she is able to talk, recognize us and also seems to have the majority of her memory.

Twenty years ago, my mom Debbie, suffered a major heart attack and thankfully recovered from open heart surgery. I was only ten years old then. Then ten years later, my father, Bill had a major stroke and never fully recovered which resulted in him being nonverbal and paralyzed on his right-side. My mom has been his primary caretaker for the last 10 years. Things have changed quickly in the last few days and now I am taking on the role of caregiver for both of my parents. I am 31 years old.

I have been driving my father to the hospital each day to stay with my mother. The expense of driving back and forth for gas and parking is adding up. My mother will have out of pocket co-pays, medical supplies and many prescriptions when released. This has put my family in hardship and we are having financial struggles.

Our lives have quickly turned upside down, and we are doing all we can to make sure she fully recovers. My mom is a fighter! The last thing I want is for my mom to have to worry about how she is going to pay for all of her medical expenses when she needs to focus on rehabilitation and recovery. She just needs our support to get her there.

I cannot put into words how grateful we would be for your contribution of any amount, even $1 would help. If you are unable to donate monetarily, please consider saying a prayer or sharing our story on social media. We believe it could potentially make a huge difference for our family and my mom's physical and mental recovery.

I appreciate your support more than you'll know.

Sincerely and humbly,

Alex, Debbie's son