Join Larry's Journey to Full Recovery

Day 1,627

Dec 5 at 1:00 am. “We heard the words of that fateful day and a grim analysis; “The prognosis is fearful, its guarded, there’s a large stroke, there is hemorrhaging in the brain. He is going to be, he is going to have severe impairments on the left side of his body. If it is survivable we can expect he will not walk, his entire left side affected, he may not have any normal bodily functions, we are not sure on the memory or cognition, he may be blind and on it went. These words led one of our children to form this statement: “So what you are telling is our dad will either be severely disabled, or he will die?”

We chose life that day. We chose to fight and to have a miraculous lifesaving craniotomy. They removed His skull, he lived and we have believed and fought with Gods truth, grit, and truckloads of grace. Truckloads. We have been told repeatedly and consistently that after one year of recovery we should expect little more improvement. At one year, Larry was confined to a wheelchair, no movement or sensation in left leg or side, in fact, he didn’t know his had a left side. We chose life, that he may have LIFE!

Larry Ballard continues to stand as a testament to the power of faith and determination as he defies common ideology. Larry is walking, fully cognizant, full body functions and is gaining more sensation daily. He is recovering movement in his arm and learning to realign his center. All these markers of recovery have occurred in the last 2 years of our 4-year journey. Larry has refused to be defined by its circumstances with unwavering resolve in spite of breaking his arm and receiving a few stiches recently, he is ready to confront the many challenges of recovery with faith in God and hard work.

During our 115 days stay at critical care rehab in California, the Lord laid a book in our hands called “Stroke Rebel”, aptly named, and written by Linda Radestad. Linda is also a massive stroke survivor of the right hemisphere, and her journey of tenacious recovery armed us with truth and laid out hope for our future. The truth? He can recover and we continue to fight. To date we continue rehab under a rigid and much needed rehab system employing the “standard” stroke belief system. We are thankful for it, and we have pushed the envelope of time constraints, but it continues to be a world of compensatory rehab and limitation.

This June, another extraordinary opportunity for transformative progressive therapy has been offered to Larry to train just out of Stockholm Sweden, with The Brain and Rehab Center, June 21- July 5, 2024, with the visionary Dr. Adjian Kuipers and the unstoppable Linda Radestad. Their innovative methods have already unlocked new pathways of healing for Larry, and we expect these sessions will further empower him to defy the odds once again. These intensive courses are limited to 8 – 10 patients, and it’s an honor to be offered this opportunity again.

This journey demands more than grit and continuing faith, it requires resource. The cost of this life changing 15- day, 8 -hour a day therapy program, inclusive of travel and accommodations is $14,000. If we could find this opportunity in the US, and that is a big if, the cost would be well over 40k out of pocket and out of our reach as our medical coverage severely limits therapy sessions for stroke survivors. The investment is not just therapy, but to us, it is an investment into the future----a future filled with strength, vitality, and further independence and his goal of working again.

We ask you for your support in making this journey possible for Larry. We have seen so many miracles along the way and expect so many more! Please pray that the possibility of advancing Larry to the next stage of recovery fully manifest.

Also, we are excited to offer a tangible way for you to show your support; Larry's motto for overcoming adversity, “Pound the Ground!” is based on the old movie “Samson”, as a testament to Gods might for Samson as he cried out to God for the strength to take down his enemies. The symbol of Larry's hand is emblazoned on a special edition T-shirt, available with a suggested donation of $25 each. Please let us know if you would like one, your size and preferred neck style. They are available in Small to 2xl in both crew neck and V-neck. Wear it as a testament of solidarity. “If one can put a thousand to flight, 2 can put 10,000 to flight.”

Your contributions, no matter the size will help offset the expenses and make a meaningful difference in Larry's life and we earnestly covet your prayers for this trip, it will be a big one for us.

With grateful hearts,