Scott Harris's Stroke Recovery

Hello, my name is Ana. I’m starting this fundraiser to help fund my dad’s recovery and rehabilitation from 3 strokes he suffered within 2 weeks’ time.

 

My dad had strokes in both the left and right side of the brain and the brainstem. These strokes left him with dysphasia and aphasia which are trouble with swallowing, speaking, and understanding language. He has full-body weakness and requires a caregiver (my mom) to help him with all his daily living needs. He will require a lot of rehabilitation to be able to stand, eat, use the bathroom on his own, and do basic everyday life things.

 

On August 2 my dad was experiencing double vision and trouble with his eyesight and went to Urgent Care. They wouldn’t see him there and told him to go to the hospital. At the hospital ER, he was kept overnight while waiting for an MRI. They found he’d suffered a stroke in the brainstem and admitted him to the ICU. At this point, he had slightly slurred speech and his eyes became misaligned causing double vision. Even so, with the assistance of the physical therapists at the hospital, he was able to use a walker and walk with assistance although very unsteady due to double vision.

 

On August 10 an MRI showed the area of the stroke was larger and he’d had a second stroke on the left side of his brain.

 

By August 15, he developed a ruptured bladder due to not being able to go to the bathroom and an acute kidney injury from the contrast used for the CT scan of his bladder. Due to the bladder bleeding, they couldn’t give him blood thinners that are usually given for the treatment of stroke.

 

By August 17, my dad had suffered a 3rd stroke on the right side of his brain. On August 20 my dad had surgery to cauterize the rupture in his bladder and on August 22 was transferred to another Banner hospital for a higher level of care. At this point, my dad was barely able to move his arms or legs and was considered non-verbal. He had a feeding tube inserted on August 28.

 

My dad was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital on August 31 barely able to move or speak. They had to use a Hoyer lift to transfer him between the bed and wheelchair. With physical, occupational, and speech therapy every day he was able to start moving his body enough they could stop using the Hoyer lift and progressed from needing 3 people to move and change him down to one person. He learned how to roll his body from one side of the bed to the other, sit up on the side of the bed, transfer from the bed to a wheelchair, and stand with assistance.

 

I am active-duty Navy and am stationed in Virginia while my mom and dad live in Arizona. Thankfully, when I found out that my dad suffered these strokes and the severity of his situation, I was able to take 3 weeks of saved-up leave days from the end of August to September to be there for my dad and stay with my mom. It really helped us both to be there for each other. I was 23 weeks pregnant at the time. It was so hard to see one of my favorite people in the whole world suffering, unable to move or speak, being fed through a tube in his stomach and hooked up to a catheter and foley bag. Every day at the end of our visit I didn't want to say goodbye or leave his side. But in my heart, I knew that he would get better, between his strong will and the positivity and love of our family that came to visit him and the love and prayers of those who weren't able to and so fortunately, I was right!

 

There are some small things (that are really big things to us as a family) that he can do on his own now. I've seen him turn his head to look around at people in the room, give a thumbs up, smile and laugh more without crying, and give us hugs, (I've received hugs from him a few times which just feels so monumental compared to the state he was in at the beginning), stick his tongue out, whisper the word "no" and slowly say the words "I love you", turn pages in a magazine, hold a phone, raise his hand up to say hello or goodbye. With every action he does, he becomes more and more fatigued and has to rest for the remainder of the day or sometimes a couple of days.

 

My dad was discharged from the rehabilitation hospital on November 2 and is home now, but he has a long road to recovery. He has dysphasia and aphasia which are trouble with swallowing, speaking, and understanding language. He still needs a lot of rehabilitation to stand, eat, use the bathroom on his own, and do basic everyday life things. He has full-body weakness and requires a full-time caregiver to help him with all his daily living needs, and the only person he has to do that is my mom.

Not only is my mom now his full-time caregiver but also the caretaker, working full time to pay for the bills, food, mortgage, supplies to help my dad, and his medical bills. I'm reaching out and asking family and friends for any support you can give my mom to help her with the mounting expenses. Your kindness will go towards my dad's medical bills and expenses that come with at-home care, as well as making it a little easier for my mom through this hardship. I am 34 weeks pregnant now and I’m hoping that my mom can be able to hire someone to help take care of my dad so she can fly to Virginia and be there with me when I give birth since my husband is on deployment and won’t return until the middle of next year.

I wouldn't be half of who I am today if it wasn't for my dad. He taught me to see the world in perspective and care about others and what they could be going through. He's the type of person who would give the shirt off his back to you if you needed it, even if you're a stranger. The type of person who, when finding a spider or bug in the house, took a cup and a piece of paper to pick it up and release it back outside instead of killing it. He's kept every single birthday and Father's Day card and drawing/random artwork and craft he ever received from all four of us kids because he is that sentimental. If you know my dad you know his love for heavy metal music, his talented singing and guitar playing, and the band he was in called "RYZ". Even though outwardly he's a rock and roll guy with a rough beard and long hair to headbang, when you meet him you find out that he actually has the most gentle soul and is one of the kindest and most generous people out there. From my dad, I learned to spread love and kindness to the world and to respect and admire the beauty of nature.

 

My dad went from singing and belting high notes to barely even being able to whisper. From playing full songs on his acoustic guitar to relearning how to give a thumbs up and give hugs to his family. My dad has been and is still currently going through a lot, and so is his family. But every day I tell him, my mom, and myself that he will get better, he will get to eat food again, walk and talk, and basically just live again. I believe this because I've seen his improvement, I see his strength and determination and I know he's working hard every day to get his life back. My dad is amazing, and I look up to him in so many ways but seeing him really push himself to recover from three strokes and make progress every day, proves even further how much of a role model he is for me and my son because he shows us anything is possible. Most of all I just love my dad so much and miss laughing with him and spending time with him. I know he'll get back to that and get his life back, and I can't wait to see that happen for him.

 

I appreciate you for reading this and for your generosity, as every dollar helps. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and we wish you and your families health and happiness, God bless you.

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