- J
- P
My brother Nathan suffered a life-threatening stroke in October 2018 while fighting an intense fire in Tampa Florida. His survival and path to recovery have been nothing short of a miracle. Nathan is currently fighting severe anxiety, depression, blindness, and difficulty moving around. He was recently denied disability and is unable to find a job due to his current physical state and an intense physical therapy schedule. Nathan has spent his entire life serving and protecting everyone in his life. Please read and share his story as we help this real-life superhero on his path to recovery.
Nathan was the oldest of 5 boys who were raised by a single mother. His athleticism made him stand out his entire life as a star athlete and he was never scared to stand up for his brothers or our mom against bullies. Nathan always took the role of man of the house and protector of our family. He handled tough situations head-on and would always use humor to put the rest of us at ease.
In May 2001, Nathan joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. He served honorably and returned home safely in 2006 earning the Army commendation medal. He then finished school and became a firefighter/paramedic in Tampa Florida where he saved lives on a daily basis.
He was the first of us to start a family and embraced the challenge of raising 6 children. He has never missed a chance to be there for his kids and is your textbook Super Dad and LOVED coaching his son's championship-winning team.
In October 2018, while working on an intense fire, Nathan started to feel weak and extremely tired. The following morning, his wife Jennifer saw he was not acting right and called 911. He was airlifted to the hospital where he had a life-saving operation performed. His entire family was told there would a slim chance for survival because one side of his brain was without blood for too many hours. When the operation was complete, the doctors were not very optimistic about his survival, let alone ever recovering from such a serious stroke.
I knew the second they told me he had a slim chance of survival that Nathan would fight through this. Some of my earliest memories were watching my oldest brother overcome anything that stood in his way. My big brother is the strongest man I've ever known and too many people in this world still needed him. When I arrived at the hospital the next day, everybody in my family had come together to be with him. My mom grabbed his hand and told him that I had arrived. He could barely open his eyes when I told him "Congratulations, the sex change was a complete success". The corner of his lip immediately rose up in an awkward smile and at that moment I knew my brother was still there and going to recover from this.
Over the next few weeks, his recovery impressed the entire medical staff. He pushed himself hard to relearn the use of the left side of his body. He would find out records set by other patients and he refused to slow down until he held all those records. He was discharged from the hospital but continues to struggle daily and attends physical therapy at the VA on a weekly basis.
It's been a year and a half since his stroke, but Nathan continues to fight. His recovery has been difficult for him, both physically and mentally. He has difficulty walking around, is blind in his right eye, he has lost over 75 pounds, and he is suffering from severe anxiety and depression. Jennifer has been by his side the entire time and continues to help him through this process.
This past week Nathan was denied long term disability which dealt a huge blow to him and his family. Since he was young, he always did what it takes to support his family. He has not been able to secure full-time work mainly because of his condition but also his physical therapy schedule. This leg of the recovery process has turned out to be the most difficult thing he has ever had to deal with.
I set this gofundme up to help Nathan and his family as they work through the next few months of uncertainty. We are not the type of family that asks people for help, but Nathan is the most deserving man I've ever known. The money collected will go directly towards basic living expenses that they will be struggling with for the next few months as they explore other options. If you're not in a position to help financially, please help share his story. Real heroes do exist.
Thank you for help and support. Please check back periodically for updates.
Love,
The Dean Family
Nathan was the oldest of 5 boys who were raised by a single mother. His athleticism made him stand out his entire life as a star athlete and he was never scared to stand up for his brothers or our mom against bullies. Nathan always took the role of man of the house and protector of our family. He handled tough situations head-on and would always use humor to put the rest of us at ease.
In May 2001, Nathan joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. He served honorably and returned home safely in 2006 earning the Army commendation medal. He then finished school and became a firefighter/paramedic in Tampa Florida where he saved lives on a daily basis.
He was the first of us to start a family and embraced the challenge of raising 6 children. He has never missed a chance to be there for his kids and is your textbook Super Dad and LOVED coaching his son's championship-winning team.
In October 2018, while working on an intense fire, Nathan started to feel weak and extremely tired. The following morning, his wife Jennifer saw he was not acting right and called 911. He was airlifted to the hospital where he had a life-saving operation performed. His entire family was told there would a slim chance for survival because one side of his brain was without blood for too many hours. When the operation was complete, the doctors were not very optimistic about his survival, let alone ever recovering from such a serious stroke.
I knew the second they told me he had a slim chance of survival that Nathan would fight through this. Some of my earliest memories were watching my oldest brother overcome anything that stood in his way. My big brother is the strongest man I've ever known and too many people in this world still needed him. When I arrived at the hospital the next day, everybody in my family had come together to be with him. My mom grabbed his hand and told him that I had arrived. He could barely open his eyes when I told him "Congratulations, the sex change was a complete success". The corner of his lip immediately rose up in an awkward smile and at that moment I knew my brother was still there and going to recover from this.
Over the next few weeks, his recovery impressed the entire medical staff. He pushed himself hard to relearn the use of the left side of his body. He would find out records set by other patients and he refused to slow down until he held all those records. He was discharged from the hospital but continues to struggle daily and attends physical therapy at the VA on a weekly basis.
It's been a year and a half since his stroke, but Nathan continues to fight. His recovery has been difficult for him, both physically and mentally. He has difficulty walking around, is blind in his right eye, he has lost over 75 pounds, and he is suffering from severe anxiety and depression. Jennifer has been by his side the entire time and continues to help him through this process.
This past week Nathan was denied long term disability which dealt a huge blow to him and his family. Since he was young, he always did what it takes to support his family. He has not been able to secure full-time work mainly because of his condition but also his physical therapy schedule. This leg of the recovery process has turned out to be the most difficult thing he has ever had to deal with.
I set this gofundme up to help Nathan and his family as they work through the next few months of uncertainty. We are not the type of family that asks people for help, but Nathan is the most deserving man I've ever known. The money collected will go directly towards basic living expenses that they will be struggling with for the next few months as they explore other options. If you're not in a position to help financially, please help share his story. Real heroes do exist.
Thank you for help and support. Please check back periodically for updates.
Love,
The Dean Family
Organizer and beneficiary
Nathan Dean
Beneficiary