Support Bubba's Dad's Stroke Recovery Journey

Life for me has always been rough until I found solace in family, my son, and trucking. As for the beginning of the story, it took me many years to learn what I wanted to be until a man put me behind the wheel of a 1980 379 Peterbilt 3406b model and sent me to the elevator. I proved to be a natural and never looked back! Trucking was my life, my passion, and my only income to support myself and my son. However, trucking can take a toll on a relationship which forced me to fight for full custody of my son, Bubba, who was 3 at the time. I will spare you the horrendous details of what my son endured at the hands of this degenerate human being his mother thought was fit to watch my child and as his father I needed to save and protect him from the toxic environment he was currently living in. I put in as many miles trucking as I could to provide a safe place for my son and I, and when that court date came I was ready. The judge was impressed with my efforts and what I had accomplished that he awarded me full custody. I continued to focus on providing a good life for him and I. We had a dream to buy a farm but then I had a stroke. Bubba saved my life that day but any hope of us living on a farm was lost all in a matter of minutes.

On February 11, 2024, while getting ready to watch the Super Bowl with friends, GO CHIEFS, something just did not feel right. My son, who was now 12, noticed something was wrong and immediately called my mom who lived just 5 minutes away to take me to the hospital. Bubba helped me to the car as I was unable to walk on my own. Upon arrival at the hospital, I was informed that I was having a stroke. I was placed in the MRI machine just in time for the doctors to see a blood clot move in my head. I was taken into emergency surgery to remove 3 clots as large as your pinky from the right side of my brain. Even though the surgery was successful, there were still everlasting effects to my left side (arm, leg, left eye) and my speech along with my career of trucking.

Once I was moved to Madonna Rehabilitation it really started to sink in what had happened and just how bad the situation was, like nurses having to administer meds and shots (blood thinner) into my stomach, and the rehab and education for me began. I was restricted to a wheelchair. They had to use what they called a Vander lift to get me out of bed to the wheelchair it was a whole process that required putting my butt in a sling and a metal apparatus with hooks coming down from the ceiling to lift me out of the bed to the wheelchair. I had to go through this process every time I had to go to the bathroom. The straps were very uncomfortable and would cut into my legs it sucked.

First morning in rehab was exciting because I thought I was going to be able to eat real food, (I had a feeding tube in my stomach where they just filled up a large plastic feeding syringe and forced supplements and pureed food into me), to my surprise they said no because I was not able to swallow properly and could aspirate if I tried. I had to learn new techniques on how to swallow. They had me practicing with easy foods like pudding by tucking my chin when I swallow so it all goes down and goes down the correct pipe. After a few weeks of pudding, they actually x-rayed me while swallowing to make sure it was working right. When they were satisfied with my swallowing techniques, they began to let me eat real meals. That next morning, I had scrambled eggs bacon and thanks to my mom being there she buttered and jellied some toast for me, soooo good!

Started physical therapy and learned I could not walk or even stand. I had no strength in my left leg, no balance and my left arm was in pain from the shoulder down to my fingertips. They would have me do leg lifts and side kickouts which seemed super hard, and I learned it was not just lack of strength that made it so hard it was lack of brain function my brain had to learn new pathway to tell my leg and arm what to do.

Depression and discouragement were setting in during the first weeks of rehab. I was not sleeping well so they medicated me. I was the type of person that would not even take Tylenol for a headache. The thought of this new reality of me unable to do things for myself the way I always had and starting over with life scared the shit out of me. Luckily, I had a good friend from my past visit me often and she would push me around in my wheelchair which I did not care for as I was having a hard time with people seeing me in the chair. She would push me down an endless maze of hallways. Then one day we came around a corner and saw a little angel in a pink puffy dress. You see I thought I was the only one suffering, little did I know there was a children’s ward in the Rehab center. This adorable little blonde-haired girl was using a walker, trying so hard to take just a few steps. I do not know what had happened to her or why she was there, but I remember thinking if she tries this hard with a smile on her face, the least I could do is suck it up and accept my situation and try just as hard as her. I thought of that beautiful darling everyday drawing inspiration from her infectious energy, pushing me to not be so down knowing that one day I would be ok. I wish that little girl knew how much she helped me.

I was at Madonna Rehabilitation inpatient until Easter of 2024 when they wanted to transfer me to a place in Omaha however my insurance would not cover the move or stay. My only option was to stay at my parents and do outpatient therapy. I have a very long recovery journey ahead of me to even get to a point of providing for my son and myself or to get ahead of all the medical bills. If you would consider contributing so I can get myself and son back to our home and continue moving forward, we would be forever grateful.

Funds will be used for medical bills, continued physical therapy and household expenses. Funds exceeding my goal will be donated back to other stroke survivors in need for continuing on their recovery path.