Help Kolbey and Jeff Overcome This Medical Crisis

"Please pray for Kolbey, he had a stroke today and he just got out of surgery and is stable". Monday Aug 12.

This a text you never want to get from your cousin, about his son.

Kolbey was a healthy 16 year old, enjoying a summer vacation day in Connecticut with his cousins. He had a headache and decided to take a nap. His Aunt checked on him because his nap was a little longer than normal. When she tried to wake him up he was not talking clearly and his sentences were not making sense. As she continued to try to wake Kolbey up he became non-responsive. His Aunt is a nurse and she knew something was dramatically wrong. 911 was called and he was taken by ambulance to the local hospital. Test revealed that he had a stroke. Kolbey was then taken by Life Flight to Boston Childrens Hospital and emergency surgery was performed. Blockages were cleared by skilled Doctors and God's provision. Surgery showed that Kolbey had a Cerebral Arterial Dissection, which is a tear in the wall of a major artery in neck. This tear allows blood to collect between the layers of the artery, forming an intramural hematoma, leading to the stroke. It is unknown how this tear occurred.

On Tuesday morning Doctors checked Kolbey's ability to move and talk. He was not able to talk clearly, and the right side of his body/face had no ability to move. Doctors were not very optimistic for a quick recovery at this point. He was then sedated and intubated to further allow healing in the brain.

Then prayer and miracles began to work! On Wednesday morning Kolbey began to show slight movements in his hand and toes. By Wednesday afternoon he was smiling and able to lift his hand slightly for a "thumbs up". (Picture attached). Kolbey was also re-gaining his ability to talk but was very hard to understand. I told him to rest and not overexert himself. He replied, "yea, they won't let me leave..." Kolbey's humor was returning, that was a great sign!

On Thursday, three days after his stroke, the Physical Therapists wanted to see if he could stand. They stood him up and he began to walk! God continued to work miracles! Kolbey is still at Boston Childrens Hospital as of today 8/18. His father Jeff is staying with him at the hospital, waiting for more test results and directions for Kolbey's future care.

So why did I want to create a GoFundMe for Jeff and Kolbey? Jeff was just recently laid off in June after 6 years working for the same company, in construction management. Jeff is currently seeking full time employment, but this occurrence will slow down his search. If you know Jeff well, then you will know that he is an extremely dedicated father. He is committed to helping Kolbey through this trial and plans to help him at every step along the way.

The medical bills will be staggering and he will not be able to work until Kolbey's care is figured out.

If you have the ability to bless Jeff and Kolbey during this time, then please give! I set the goal at $50,000 but honestly the needs will well exceed this amount.