Stroke Recovery Support for Wendy

On December 26, 2022, a day after Christmas, our mom woke up with slurred speech and difficulty forming and remembering words. Our father immediately took her to the hospital, where we were told she had suffered a stroke in her sleep. She had a dissected carotid artery that formed a clot in her neck and brain.

She had to be transferred by helicopter to another hospital for emergency surgery. The surgery did not go well and resulted in more blood clots forming. My mother was given blood thinners, which caused bleeding around the brain. Her right side of the body was also affected after the surgery, causing extreme weakness and the inability to move.

My mom was prescribed intense swelling medications to decrease the swelling and pressure on the brain. Unfortunately, that did not help. After a few days, the pressure increased and caused the midline of the brain to shift. The doctors told us that if my mother did not get a craniectomy, which is a surgery in which a piece of her skull is removed to allow the brain to swell, that the pressure will eventually cause brain stem death and at that point she would legally be pronounced dead.

We decided to move forward with the surgery, and afterward, my mom was recovering and responding well. Her midline shift went from a 10.4 to a 5.8, and everything was looking good! But later that week, we were told some bad news. The doctors had performed another CT scan and noticed my mom was experiencing more bleeding and swelling. On January 12, 2023, she was sent for a third emergency surgery. She was also given a blood transfusion on January 15, 2023.

After three weeks and three surgeries, my mom is stable. She no longer needs to be on the ventilator as she is now breathing on her own. She currently has a feeding tube, but we will be discussing the plan to take it out soon, putting her skull back on, and eventually transferring her to another room in the hospital.

During these past three weeks, my father has remained by my mom's side, as he could not bare to leave her in the hospital alone. They have been married for over 40 years. My mom made it clear to my dad that she did not want to be there alone. As a result, my father has not been working. My siblings and I are asking for your help for our mom's medical emergency and recovery.

Your support will allow us to focus on her recovery. The funds raised will be used for monthly bills, upcoming medical expenses, and any necessary changes at home to assist in her recovery. Any donation, no matter big or small, is greatly appreciated. If you can not donate, please help us get the word out by sharing our campaign.

Our mom is the backbone of our family, and we love her so much! She is loving, kind, and always puts others' needs before her own. We want to support her during her road to recovery to get her back to the things that she loves: her husband, 5 kids, and 12 grandchildren, her gardening, her love for the Hebrew language (she had just completed and earned her certificate for the Easy Hebrew Correspondence Course in October 2022), and the Tuesday night Bible ministry our parents started together. Our family is forever grateful for your loving compassion during this time.

Thank you!