Help Leslie get the kick in the butt she needs

Dear friends and family,

As some of you know and some of you are hearing this for the first time, my mom, Leslie Alexandria, had a catastrophic stroke at the end of June. Leslie was at the hospital for a scheduled heart surgery, and the following day in the ICU step-down is when the stroke occurred. She was rushed to UC Medical where Dr. Charles Prestigiacomo performed brain surgery. He saved her life by breaking up some of the blood clot in her left middle cerebral artery and injecting anticoagulation. The stroke left her with aphasia, dyspraxia, memory and cognition deficits, paralysis, and general weakness on her right side.

She spent two weeks in the hospital before transferring to acute rehab at TriHealth, where she spent almost 4 weeks doing physical, occupational, and speech therapy. At TriHealth, she made remarkable progress: when she first started rehab, she could not get out of her bed alone and had no use of her right hand, but by the end she was using a walker to get around and was able to pick up objects and squeeze my hand.

After rehab, she transferred to her partner Marsha’s condo to continue with home care therapy. She was doing well but after about two weeks she developed a skin infection, common after hospital stays. Marsha called for an ambulance to take her to the hospital where she spent 6 days. While at the hospital, we learned that Leslie also has several torn tendons in her left foot and some complications in her right hand from the metal plate she has there from a break several years ago.

The break in therapy and the week in the hospital has unfortunately led to a regression in Leslie’s healing, almost to the point of when she first left the hospital, and almost back to square one. Leslie is now in a nursing home in Cincinnati where she does receive some therapy—PT, OT, and speech—but it won’t be nearly enough to jump-start her back to progressing to a level of independence that she needs. As we know, Leslie’s independence is such a huge part of her identity. It’s one of the qualities I admire most in my mom.

I’m writing you because Leslie needs to be back in acute rehab. She needs the kind of kick-in-the-butt rehabilitation that only a facility like that can provide. Because insurance won’t pay for this part of her recovery, I’ve decided to raise the money myself, along with all the people who love and adore Leslie.

I’m raising funds to pay for 6 weeks of acute rehab therapy at TriHealth, and we are pressed for time. The cost of TriHealth is $1,700 a day. For 45 days, it will cost a whopping $76,500, which is far beyond mine and Leslie’s ability to pay out of pocket. The sooner we can secure the funds, the sooner we can get her back in the therapy she needs and our time is running out as we only have less than a week!

Are you able to help?

If Leslie is going to have a fighting chance at being an independent, active woman again, her only hope will be the kind of intensive rehabilitation she will receive at TriHealth. Our goal at the moment is 6 weeks of rehab, then she will need assisted living while she continues to recover enough to safely live unassisted at home in her condo.

As you can see, the task before us is tall. But if there’s one thing I know, mom is a tough-ass cowgirl, and if anyone can do this, she can. It won’t be easy, and I know she is tired and done with all the hospitals, therapy, and doctors, and just wants to be home sitting around in her living room talking with friends, or in her back room quilting and making art, or talking with her sons and grandkids about their lives.

Let’s get Leslie home, back where she should be, giving us all advice.

Please share far and wide! (But, please don't tell Leslie about this, she has enough on her mind)

If you prefer to send a check, just reach out to me directly.