Help Kevin Rebuild After Having A Stroke

On June 5, 2024, Kevin came home from work and felt a bit overheated and had a hard time grabbing his water bottle. He laid down to take a nap and quickly realized that he could not move his left side. He recognized that he was exhibiting all the signs pointing to an active stroke by using the acronym “FAST.” The F: facial droop, A: arms couldn’t be raised and held up, S: speech was slurred, and T: time to get to a hospital. He quickly called his wife Wendy to ask her how he sounded, and she recognized a slurred voice and instructed Kevin to call 911 immediately. She did as well, and they each stayed on the phone with the dispatchers until they reached their apartment. Kevin was immediately transported to Upstate University Medical Center in Syracuse, which thankfully was the area’s premier Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Kevin immediately had a CT scan, which showed that he had suffered an ischemic stroke in the pons area of his brainstem. He was given the clot-busting medication, tPA, to immediately start working on dissolving the clot in his brain. They were able to restore blood flow to his brain, but not after depriving it of oxygen first. Every minute that a stroke goes untreated, roughly 1.9 million brain cells die, which can lead to long-term disability and even death.

Kevin thankfully survived, and was admitted to the Neuro ICU, but was completely paralyzed on his entire left side—facial muscles, shoulder, arm, hand, leg, and foot. Kevin is left-handed, so this caused even more of an issue. After stabilizing Kevin’s blood pressure, Kevin was able to begin speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy a few days later.

Every day, Kevin was given new tasks to try to complete such as practicing swallowing, speaking, and smiling. They slowly started adding in getting Kevin up to practice balancing while standing and taking a few steps that were completed by the physical therapist sliding Kevin’s left leg forward.

After 35 days in the hospital at Upstate, Kevin was transferred to an inpatient rehab center in Buffalo. Prior to his stroke, Kevin’s wife Wendy was offered a new job in the Buffalo area as a high school principal. They planned to move to the Buffalo area so they would be halfway between Wendy’s brother and his family in Elmira, NY and Kevin’s family in Cleveland, OH. Kevin had just secured a brand new job as a swim coach with the Hamburg Swim Club in Hamburg, NY. The move occurred on July 1st and Wendy started her new job on July 9th. The catch was that their brand new apartment wasn’t ready yet, so Wendy had to live in a temporary apartment until theirs was finished. She has been working every day and then driving to downtown Buffalo to visit Kevin every day after work.

Now, two months after Kevin’s stroke, he is able to speak normally, his blood pressure is better, and he’s trying new things every day. In PT, they have been using electro stimulation to “wake up” the nerves on his left side in his arm and in his leg. He is learning to get out of his wheelchair with assistance and pivot to get in bed or sit on the toilet. He has some movement in his left shoulder and can raise his left foot off the ground about 6 inches.

Kevin’s recovery is going to be long and complicated. He is on leave right now from his current job and has not worked in over 2 months. We don’t know how long Kevin will need to be in the rehab facility, but he cannot do any transferring movements unaided, and is still unable to do most activities of daily living by himself like showering, bathing, or changing his clothes. He has had to learn to do some activities with his right hand such as using an electric razor, brushing his teeth, and eating.

Research shows that the most progress happens during the first six months after having a stroke. It’s unclear how long Kevin will be at Buffalo Center for rehab, but he will need in-home rehab as well. We won’t know whether he will come home in a wheelchair or how long he won’t be able use his left arm and/or leg. He’s going to need frequent and extended therapy at home once he leaves rehab. His new apartment follows ADA standards with lower kitchen counters, a walk-in master shower with a seat in it, and on the first floor. Depending on whether Kevin comes home in a wheelchair, more modifications may need to be made to their apartment such as adding grab bars and a hospital bed.

Right now, everything about Kevin’s recovery is on a day-to-day basis. We would like to ensure that he gets the best care possible, and things like insurance coverage, hospital bills from his treatment, and home care and modifications are going to be huge because we do not know when, or if, Kevin can go back to work. Obviously we would love for Kevin to have a full recovery, but the reality is that he may be permanently disabled, but we can’t quite yet predict to what degree.

We are asking for your generosity in helping to create a treatment fund for Kevin to be used for home health care, home modifications, mobility aids, and hospital bills. It would mean the world to Kevin and his family if we could continue the best possible care for him so that we can hopefully get him as close as possible back to the Kevin before June 5th. Any support is appreciated! Thank you in advance!