Thank you for taking the time to visit...

On August 25th, 2022, around 11 pm, my cousin's husband, Cameron, suffered an acute ischemic stroke at the young age of 34 years old. He went from having a normal conversation with his wife Lexi to suddenly not responding and slowly slumping to the floor. Thankfully Lexi was there to call 911 and have him quickly rushed to a local hospital.

Cameron was given tPA (an IV medication that dissolves blood clots) quickly upon admission, as it is only effective if given within 3 hours of the onset of a stroke. He then had an emergency thrombectomy surgery (a procedure to remove the blood clot in his brain). His doctors are still trying to determine the cause of the stroke; all the tests done thus far have not been able to give any definitive answers. The stroke caused parietal and frontal lobe brain damage making Cameron's road to recovery long, but his spirits are up, and our family is hopeful.

Before the stroke, Cameron had worked as a behavior therapist for young children with Autism spectrum disorders in schools and homes since 2016. He graduated with his Master's Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis late last year with the ultimate goal of becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Cameron had been working incredibly hard for this since early 2020, getting his Master's degree and supervision hours in the field while working full-time.

Initially, Cameron was in ICU for about five days following his stroke. After two hospital stays, he was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility where he began daily Speech, Occupational and Physical therapy (and a few Recreational & Animal-Assisted Therapy sessions) until his discharge on September 27th, 2022.

Cameron couldn't have been happier to be home after a long 4 1/2 weeks away! Now they are waiting for insurance (a dreadful process, as we all know) to kick in for outpatient care which we hope will be soon! Once approved, his therapy per insurance will only be 1-2 sessions a week at most- which means the majority of Cameron's healing and rehab will be centered around their efforts at home while Lexi also tries to manage her job.

Cameron's speech has gotten better but is still limited at this time. He has trouble verbally communicating most things but is working on this everyday. His reading comprehension and writing abilities have also improved but are still very limited. Fortunately, he does have great comprehension- we are blessed to know he can understand what we are saying to him. Most amazing of all, Cameron is able to walk without much assistance and is now able to take a shower and get dressed with little help. He currently needs to wear an orthotic sling for his right arm, as it has yet to gain mobility, and a brace on his right foot to assist him with proper form as he has been relearning to walk.

If you know Cameron & Lexi personally, you would know they would never ask anyone for help and only ask for thoughts and prayers! Because I can see the emotional, physical and unfortunate financial struggle this has caused them, I wanted to try to help them in a bigger way than I can myself.

Our family is very hopeful for Cameron as he is a WARRIOR! We pray he makes a full recovery and quickly gets to bless everyone with his never-ending love and patience again. We know Cameron can't wait to return to his life's passion- working with his "kiddos," as he would say.

On behalf of Cameron, Lexi, and our family, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

#FIGHTON #CAMERONTHEWARRIOR #STROKESURVIVOR