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Gavin's Journey

On Monday, September 17th, Gavin suffered a stroke to the left front side of his brain, known as Broca’s area. It’s the area that controls speech. He understands everything and is comprehending just fine, but there’s now a disconnect between him knowing what he wants to say and getting the words to come out. It’s extremely frustrating for him.

Now, the question is, why. Why did this happen? He’s only 34. Well, Gavin has Marfan’s Syndrome and this has affected the mitral valve and the aorta of his heart. He has mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation. From this, an infection has presented itself on the mitral valve with a clot. Little pieces of the clot have broken off and this is where the stroke came from. His aorta is also enlarged, which is often expected with Marfan Syndrome.

It’s been two weeks, and we are hoping Gavin will be returning home tomorrow, Monday October 1st. He’ll be on IV antibiotics for 6 weeks, and then he will almost certainly return to Barnes for a mitral valve replacement along with fixing his enlarged aorta. He will be in the ICU following his heart surgery.

The doctors have said that Gavin will be out of work for 3 months, maybe more,  depending on his improvements with his speech and after his heart surgery.


We keep being asked how to help, and we appreciate it more than you know. Below are a few ways you can help if you’re interested:

1. Donate to Gavin’s gofundme page. Insurance will obviously cover a good portion of the incoming bills, but there will be added stress involved with not being able to work during this process.

2. Send him a card. If you’d like his address, please contact us!

3. Keep sending your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate them all!

4. Pray that the Broncos have a solid season this year, as this is Gavin’s favorite team! :)
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Natalie Kohlmeier
Organizer
Ballwin, MO
Judith McDermott
Beneficiary

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