Help John to get back on his feet after a stroke

John and Heather have been married 6 weeks. They had finally found the love of their lives and they are truly best friends.

On July 4th, John woke Heather up hollering. He could not sit up or speak clearly. She called 911 and John was taken to UT Medical Center. He had a TIA (mini stroke) by the time they got to the ER, John was able to pronounce his words better and move his right side. While waiting on the CT results, John had a massive stroke in the ER. He was rushed into a procedure to remove a large blood clot that lodge itself into the central artery of his left brain. The surgery was mostly successful, only leaving a small piece of the blood clot that was too deep in the brain to reach. Heather was told that he would be watched closely over the next few days for any signs of swelling. With a brain injury of this magnitude, swelling is a high probability.

Tuesday, the neurologist told Heather that their concerns were accurate and they had to take John into surgery to perform a Craniectomy (the removal of the left side of his skull) in order to allow room for the brain to swell without putting pressure on the healthy side of his brain. The surgery was successful and the brain did exactly what we’d hoped it would do, by swelling to the outside. John is unable to use the right side of his body but is making progress every day.

The neurology team is hopeful that he will pull through this but has made it clear that he has a long hard road ahead of him.

One week after his stroke, he tried to speak to Heather, for the first time. It was hard to understand but a huge milestone! John is determined and strong and has an army of prayer warriors busting through the gates of Heaven with prayers!

But the reality is, they are facing so much. They have a son, who is 8, who John was in the process of adopting. They just bought a house, and the bills will start racking up. To add to the weight of everything, UT Medical Center is not in the network for John’s BCBS insurance. Heather is working on getting him transferred as soon as he is stable enough. She wants him at Ft Sanders, where they have a world renowned therapy center. They are also in the network for his insurance. But you can imagine the bills that will begin coming in. John had also just purchased a new truck that Heather is trying to sell back. But they need our help. The childcare costs, gas, and other expenses are growing and their income is shrinking. Anything you can do to help would be a blessing!