Help Support Wade’s Recovery Journey

My brother, Wade, is the kind of person you’d like to be when you grow up. He is a teacher of children, a bright light in his community, a loyal sibling, a caring son, a supportive friend, and an adoring spouse. He’s also a former collegiate runner, skilled baker, avid reader, and cautiously optimistic Timberwolves fan. As goofy as he is intelligent, Wade is the kind of person you want in your corner—now, it’s our turn to be in his.

On February 28th, 2025, Wade suffered a catastrophic stroke. He began the day uneventfully and ended it in the neuro-ICU at a hospital in Queens, NYC. Wade had a spontaneous (random) dissection of his right vertebral artery, complicated by clot to his basilar artery, which supplies parts of the brain responsible for breathing, speaking, wakefulness, balance, and movement. This was a life-threatening event that required emergency surgery and several weeks in the ICU. It is miraculous that Wade survived. At present, Wade breathes through a tube in his neck (tracheostomy) and eats through a tube in his stomach (gastrostomy). For the time being he is unable to speak or swallow. He is very weak and requires ample support to perform tasks such as sitting, walking, and interacting with his surroundings.

The good news? Wade is beginning intensive rehabilitation and his medical team is hopeful that he will recover these functions in time. Even better?? Wade is cognitively intact - the same intelligent goofball we all know and love is very much alive. You’d be amazed how funny someone can be without saying a word. Throughout the greatest challenge of his life, Wade has remained a comfort to his shellshocked friends and family: mouthing “how are you?” with sincerity when you ask the same of him.

Wade faces a long road ahead. Several weeks-to-months of acute rehab at a facility out of the city will be followed by more rehab closer to home in Queens. He will likely be out of work for the remainder of the calendar year and possibly longer. We don’t yet know the entirety of what Wade will need, but significant costs related to his care are already making themselves known.

Your contributions here will go directly towards the needs of Wade and Hafizah. Hospital expenses, transport to rehab, reduced/lost income, adaptive equipment, monthly bills, and support services, just to name a few.

Wade is the strongest person I know—in cosmic ways, he is equipped to handle the sizable task at hand. He inspires greatness, joy, and hope in others simply by existing. Please, help us get him back to the life he so deeply loves.