Help Support Tanya's Recovery

On October 3, 2021, my spouse and best friend, Tanya, sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a gunshot wound to the head. She miraculously survived but immediately experienced partial paralysis on her left side. Tanya had an emergency craniectomy to relieve the pressure on her brain and remove the damaged piece of her skull, leading to 10 days in the ICU followed by 20 days on the neurology floor and a month on the hospital rehabilitation floor.

Tanya was intubated for the first seven days in the ICU to protect her airway. The nursing team and I had Tanya communicate by squeezing our hands or wiggling her toes on her right foot during this time. Yet, it always felt like she had something more to say. If you know Tanya, you know that she’s a writer through and through. Once the nurses found out about Tanya’s passion for writing, they promptly brought a marker and dry erase board. As hard as she tried, the handwriting was illegible. But she soon graduated with a napkin and pen. Now she was indeed able to communicate and express her sense of humor.

No two TBIs are the same, and no two brains heal the same, but as of late October, the prognosis for the paralysis reversing was not good. Every medical professional I spoke with had the same response, “prepare your home to be wheelchair accessible because Tanya will likely never walk again.”

On November 8th, the doctor told me again, but Tanya was awake and overheard this time. Until this point, she had regained feeling on her left side but had only started to stand up with the help of a machine and nurses. I would watch Tanya while the nurses transported her on the device and knew she was determined to walk again.

On November 11th, Tanya took her first steps with an assistive device during her therapy session. Afterward, I asked how it felt, and with a grin on her face, she said, “I want to do that again.” From that day on, every day was a new milestone or breakthrough. While in the rehabilitation program, Tanya learned how to swallow, talk and walk again.

On December 3rd, Tanya graduated from her inpatient rehab program to continue an intensive outpatient therapy program. The outpatient program is much like the inpatient, with several weekly on-site therapy sessions split between physical, speech, and occupational, multiple follow-up appointments with specialists and a lot of physical and mental rest.

Tanya is on leave from work and will be for an unknown extended period. The medical bills and outpatient co-pays are adding up and will continue as Tanya has a second surgery in the late Spring or early Summer to finish repairing the damage sustained to her skull. She cannot return to work until the second surgery is performed and fully recovered. As Tanya’s income is our primary source, we also have household expenses to cover during this time. We’re not only asking for support for Tanya so she can fully dedicate her focus on healing and recovery but for the miracle itself.