Stephen O’Hara’s Heartbeat of Support
Spende geschützt
You come into this world knowing that one day you will leave, but only God knows when that time will be. Until then, you leave behind a piece of you in every exchange—every moment. There are two expressions Dad used often in our house: 1) You are the sum total of everything and everyone you come in contact with. 2) Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards. As much as I hate cliches, these two phrases became a realization of truth in the last 48 hours. That is: 1) Stephen (Dad) is the sum total of so many people—literally every moment of his life can be represented by someone he knows in his circle. 2) As time goes on, I continue to see how life really does always come together...”bit by bit,” as Dad would quote his favorite singer.
Dad is stable, but has a long road ahead, if all continues to go well.
On Wednesday evening, he and my mom were eating at one of their favorite restaurants. They just happened to be very close to a hospital, as this particular area is a senior-living community. While seated, Dad began having chest pain. Mom called 911 and they hooked him up to machines to check his heart. He was definitely having an episode of sorts.
They had MINUTES to get him to the hospital. Once they arrived, he was wheeled in to get scans done. That is when he went into V-Fib, which is called “sudden death.” He was paddled eight times, with compressions inbetween.
They were able to stabilize him enough to get into the lab where he had a stent put in and a type of mechanism that helps his heart pump. The surgery lasted about an hour and a half.
He is currently in ICU in an induced coma to keep him calm and the heart relaxed. He is on about 16 different drip systems, a breathing machine, and his diabetes has to be watched closely on top of all of this.
We have faith. We are strong in the Lord. I know that God is in the business of miracles. Statistically, 6% of people that suffer this type of attack (where it happens away from a hospital) actually live. I’m humbled to say that my dad has a fighting chance, and I can only hope that God is not done with him yet. Dad would probably tell me right now that I only need faith as small as a mustard seed. And that is good enough.
In the spirit of progress and healing, I decided to create this GoFundMe as a way to help with Dad’s medical care and treatment. This is going to be incredibly daunting. Although he has insurance, with the state of healthcare, combined with being self-employed, it’s still going to be monumental. He will not be able to conduct normal, every day life functions for at least a month—at LEAST. In no way do we expect anyone to contribute. I just want to leave this open if it’s on your heart to help in some way. Any support and help is appreciated...your time, your words, your prayers.
Thank you for being part of my dad’s life and for extending so much love to our family during this time.
With so much love and gratitude,
Ashley O’Hara Skalsky
Dad is stable, but has a long road ahead, if all continues to go well.
On Wednesday evening, he and my mom were eating at one of their favorite restaurants. They just happened to be very close to a hospital, as this particular area is a senior-living community. While seated, Dad began having chest pain. Mom called 911 and they hooked him up to machines to check his heart. He was definitely having an episode of sorts.
They had MINUTES to get him to the hospital. Once they arrived, he was wheeled in to get scans done. That is when he went into V-Fib, which is called “sudden death.” He was paddled eight times, with compressions inbetween.
They were able to stabilize him enough to get into the lab where he had a stent put in and a type of mechanism that helps his heart pump. The surgery lasted about an hour and a half.
He is currently in ICU in an induced coma to keep him calm and the heart relaxed. He is on about 16 different drip systems, a breathing machine, and his diabetes has to be watched closely on top of all of this.
We have faith. We are strong in the Lord. I know that God is in the business of miracles. Statistically, 6% of people that suffer this type of attack (where it happens away from a hospital) actually live. I’m humbled to say that my dad has a fighting chance, and I can only hope that God is not done with him yet. Dad would probably tell me right now that I only need faith as small as a mustard seed. And that is good enough.
In the spirit of progress and healing, I decided to create this GoFundMe as a way to help with Dad’s medical care and treatment. This is going to be incredibly daunting. Although he has insurance, with the state of healthcare, combined with being self-employed, it’s still going to be monumental. He will not be able to conduct normal, every day life functions for at least a month—at LEAST. In no way do we expect anyone to contribute. I just want to leave this open if it’s on your heart to help in some way. Any support and help is appreciated...your time, your words, your prayers.
Thank you for being part of my dad’s life and for extending so much love to our family during this time.
With so much love and gratitude,
Ashley O’Hara Skalsky
Organisator
Ashley O'Hara Skalsky
Organisator
Monrovia, CA