With a lil help from my friends: Steen's husband
Donation protected
Words from Jen, Steen’s sister:
On October 5, my brother in law, Chris, was sitting with his family having breakfast, when he suddenly had intense pain in his head. He stood up and collapsed, and his speech became garbled.
Chris had suffered an AVM. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. For Chris, this resulted in a stroke and hemorrhage (bleeding on his brain).
Chris is currently under Intensive Neurological Care. He is in stable condition, and at this moment he is undergoing brain surgery, which will hopefully remove the AVM and the clot.
As it stands, Chris is unable to speak and has become paralyzed on the right side of his body. There is a very long road ahead for Chris, his wife Christine, their 4 year old child.
Chris will require extensive rehab and therapy once he gets through brain surgery, more tests and imaging, and is cleared to leave the hospital. We don't know when he will get to that point, we are taking it day by day. Our greatest hope is that Chris will someday walk and speak normally, and be able to return to his life as a devoted father and husband.
We are raising funds to assist this family in meeting their basic needs. Christine has currently taken leave from her job to care for her family and be with Chris as he heals from this traumatic life changing event. It is too early to guess what the future has in store for this family. We are hopeful Chris will someday be able to walk and speak again, but the road ahead is long and we wish to help as much as we can financially, so the Byquist family can concentrate on healing without worrying so much about being fed, paying bills, and keeping a roof over their head.
Christine is overwhelmed by the generosity and kind words of her friends. Thank you to each of you who have extended offers of childcare and meals to Christine. We have set a fundraising goal of $3000which will help the Byquists focus on Chris's health while keeping fed, housed, and ensure childcare for their son when they need it. We do not know when Christine will be able to return to work, or what kinds of changes will be required for Chris when he eventually is able to return home.
We ask that visitors for Chris be limited to family and very close friends at the time, as he shouldn't be over stimulated. This has been A LOT for the family to handle and it is imperative that we don't overwhelm Chris right now.
Christine also thanks everyone for your kind words but she is also very overwhelmed right now and is not able to respond to everyone individually. She will post updates here as she is able to.
Thank you everyone for your support and generosity!
On October 5, my brother in law, Chris, was sitting with his family having breakfast, when he suddenly had intense pain in his head. He stood up and collapsed, and his speech became garbled.
Chris had suffered an AVM. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. For Chris, this resulted in a stroke and hemorrhage (bleeding on his brain).
Chris is currently under Intensive Neurological Care. He is in stable condition, and at this moment he is undergoing brain surgery, which will hopefully remove the AVM and the clot.
As it stands, Chris is unable to speak and has become paralyzed on the right side of his body. There is a very long road ahead for Chris, his wife Christine, their 4 year old child.
Chris will require extensive rehab and therapy once he gets through brain surgery, more tests and imaging, and is cleared to leave the hospital. We don't know when he will get to that point, we are taking it day by day. Our greatest hope is that Chris will someday walk and speak normally, and be able to return to his life as a devoted father and husband.
We are raising funds to assist this family in meeting their basic needs. Christine has currently taken leave from her job to care for her family and be with Chris as he heals from this traumatic life changing event. It is too early to guess what the future has in store for this family. We are hopeful Chris will someday be able to walk and speak again, but the road ahead is long and we wish to help as much as we can financially, so the Byquist family can concentrate on healing without worrying so much about being fed, paying bills, and keeping a roof over their head.
Christine is overwhelmed by the generosity and kind words of her friends. Thank you to each of you who have extended offers of childcare and meals to Christine. We have set a fundraising goal of $3000which will help the Byquists focus on Chris's health while keeping fed, housed, and ensure childcare for their son when they need it. We do not know when Christine will be able to return to work, or what kinds of changes will be required for Chris when he eventually is able to return home.
We ask that visitors for Chris be limited to family and very close friends at the time, as he shouldn't be over stimulated. This has been A LOT for the family to handle and it is imperative that we don't overwhelm Chris right now.
Christine also thanks everyone for your kind words but she is also very overwhelmed right now and is not able to respond to everyone individually. She will post updates here as she is able to.
Thank you everyone for your support and generosity!
Co-organizers (2)
Woo Rex
Organizer
Edmonton, AB
Christine Byquist
Beneficiary
Jen Luckwell
Co-organizer