My husband, John Wade III, suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke on 10/18 while we were on vacation in Florida to visit his dad and go to DisneyWorld. He was airlifted to HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, where he's been in the ICU receiving treatment. The stroke caused significant brain bleeding and swelling to the brain's right side, followed by secondary strokes (on the left) and seizures during his hospital stay.

He's alive and showing signs of awareness; he can follow some commands and responds to stimuli, but he hasn't regained consciousness yet. Doctors say recovery will take months minimum, possibly longer. In the next day or so, he will be getting a tracheostomy and feeding tube to support long-term care once he's discharged from the ICU. The medical team at Bayonet has been cautiously optimistic given his age and the progress he's made so far.

The immediate costs of his hospitalization are going to be staggering, including airlift to Bayonet Hospital ($20k-50k), two weeks ICU stay (approaching $200k+), upcoming transfer to long-term acute care (which will also include transport from Florida back to our home state of New York), and months of rehabilitation. While we do have insurance, the out-of-pocket exposure is going to be overwhelming, and we're looking at bills that will take quite some time to pay off.

John is 46 and earlier this year took over as the general manager at Milk Bar's flagship NOMAD location in NYC. The banner photo was taken in May 2025 when we got married.

Honestly, any amount would help with medical bills. If you can't donate, sharing his story would help too. I'll also update back here as things progress.

Thank you,

Chris (CK)