Help Luis Heal

On Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, Luis Napoleon Isaza, my father, fell to the floor of his home and suffered for hours overnight before an ambulance was called Thursday morning. We rushed to his side when doctors confirmed the worst, my father had suffered a right hemisphere cerebrum stroke, a brain injury that successfully killed 90% of his right hemisphere.

Luckily, Vassar Brothers Medical Center has an award-winning stroke department. Monitoring his progress every hour, his brain had swollen so much from the injury it was now pushing on the left side of the brain. With no room left to swell, his brain would have been forced down his spinal cord, killing him instantly. The doctor rushed to the hospital at 2am for the emergency craniectomy to decompress the pressure building.

After almost 4 hours in the operating room, the doctor confirmed the successful removal of his right hemisphere skull fragment. The right side hemisphere was slowly easing the pressure off the left hemisphere, allowing the swelling to continue outside the skull. Later that day, a cat scan confirmed the swelling had decreased and his midline shifted back towards realignment. After sedation, feeding tubes, breathing tubes, and 6 days in the ICU, Luis has defied all odds and is now out of critical condition.

Luis is slowly recovering day by day. After a stroke this size, and the paralyzation of the entire left side of his body, this man is the definition of a miracle!

Now that he has made it past the most difficult initial stage of recovery - it is time to look forward to his immediate future and take steps towards the start of his physical rehabilitation. Doctors are impressed by his progress and adamant that the sooner he starts, the better his chances will be to regain mobility to his left arm and leg. We are hopeful that he will make a full recovery and ask for your help to get us there! The cost of the live-in facility he needs to be in is daunting but, we just want our father to be whole again.

Thank you all for the endless support, kindness, and love during this time.