Please Lets Join Together And Help Chad
This will always be a Father's day to remember.
His daughter and son were awaiting their birthday texts from their Dad which also always falls on or around Father's day. That embarrassing picture he would always post on his Facebook or Instagram along with a loving sentiment to each one. Just to keep them humble. How they longed for that, but it never came.
Chad awoke early Father's day with a brutal headache like no other. But forced himself to shoot out some quick replies, a short text to his dad and his 3 sweet children who wished him a Great Day for "The Best Dad Ever"!
Within minutes this headache which was later described as a Thunder Clap of a headache quickly turned into such nausea he'd never known. Followed by dizziness, blurred vision, and slurred speech.
By the time the ambulance arrived he was under a full attack and the EMT was very aware of his symptoms and the potential outcome of their assessment.
So with lights flashing and sirens blasting they quickly headed to the hospital.
Within minutes inside the emergency room he was rushed to have CT Scan and it was determined at that point he had suffered a massive "Subarachnoid Hemorrhage”.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, a medical emergency, is usually from a bulging blood vessel that bursts in the brain (aneurysm). Bleeding in the space between the brain and the tissue covering the brain. It may lead to permanent brain damage or death if not treated promptly.
In Chad's case he was treated promptly by a very capable Neurology team in the ICU at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston Salem.
They immediately placed a drain tube inside his brain to reroute the fluid that was continuing to build by the minute causing pressure and to decrease the chance of any permanent damage.
The next few days after were so very scary for Chad and his family. His pain was unbearable to watch. He was in and out of consciousness. The life sustaining drugs were keeping him somewhat incoherent and confused. He was always in a dream state. Not knowing if his dreams were reality or reality was his dreams. His conversation was total gibberish. And some were just plain scary and heart wrenching to think he was having such nightmares.
He will remain in ICU until his body takes over its own routing of this daily fluid thru it normal chambers and channels. And at some point in this healing process all the now congealed blood that had spilled into his brain will remain and act as an irritant until it is absorb into his body.
The other issue at this point of his healing is the flow of blood measured by the ease or speed in which it is able to travel thru the arteries freely without any constrictions.
The team is expecting and watching closely and measuring daily these numbers.
At this time his numbers are elevated. If these numbers get too high there is a serious chance of Stroke. So once this phase has been addressed we will move into the next phase of his healing.
Then into a regular room for more observation and then weeks of rehabilitation.
The outcome looks promising. But he is not out if the woods. More testing will be performed daily and routinely and possibly for the rest of his life.
And to think a man could battle this on his own. He will need help from each and every one of us. The financial burden alone is enough to crush any man.
And leaves even the man who plans well devastated.
When Covid came to our town, some of the most job secure people were left holding an empty sack of promises. Chad was one of those.
At the current time Chad’s most recent employer actually closed down his business because of a Covid death within the company. Chad had not been employed there long enough to receive health benefits. He had 2 promising job interviews that he missed while being here in the ICU.
These burdens of cash flow are weighing heavily upon him and his family. This stress is devastating to his health and recovery. The catastrophic health care cost for just the ICU has already mounted up into the thousands.
So we are urgently asking for your support in this effort to help Chad in this fight.
We are thankful and appreciate all your prayers.
We will be eternally grateful for any donation you can contribute.
God bless you all,
The Gray Family