Hi everyone, my name is Whitney as most of you know I am a cousin to Samuel and his mom, Betty Jo this is one way I can help them in their time of need.

Update: 11/7

For those who have not heard, Sam had a stroke on Sunday morning 10/29. He was airlifted to Rochester and was in the ICU. He has regained full use of his right of his body which is a blessing beyond measure. The ultrasound of his legs has shown that he does not have any more clots.

He was allowed to come home on 10/31, because there are no more clots, he has full use of his body, and because we have a wonderful support system that will provide him with 24/7 supervision.

ThisHalloween is one he will never forget. He was so happy to be home and handing out candy to the kids!

The MRI shows that there is damage to the left side of his brain which has impacted his ability to communicate well. He is able to answer yes/no questions and even say some words however he has difficulty expressing what it is that he wants to say either verbally or in writing. He is able to get 3-4 word sentences out now and that’s a blessing!

He will be working with occupational and speech pathologists in hopes of improving his ability to communicate 11/17!

His echo showed that he has a hole in his heart that will need to be corrected. His original scheduled appointment was for November 29. However, Sam had an appointment yesterday 11/7. Sam will be having surgery THIS Friday. They will be going up through the groin to repair his heart, instead of opening them all the way up.

Between the therapy and fixing his heart surgery, he still has a long road ahead of him, but with family and friends we will get through it!

Message from Sam and Betty Jo:

“Thank you so much to our family, friends, and community for supporting Sam and me during this trying time. We appreciate the outpouring of support we have received.”

Thank you,

Whitney