My name is Christi Tollerton. My husband, Kit, was found after 4 hours on our bedroom floor, having suffered a massive stroke May 20th, just 7 days before his 53rd birthday. It was caused by a bleed deep in his brain. The bleeding is under control, but the damage has already been done.

Kit is an outgoing and fun loving man that could talk your ear off with the many accumulated stories of his life and family. Not being able to communicate effectively because of the aphasia has him frustrated to no end. His mouth is not cooperating with what he wants to say. This is probably the biggest hurdle we have to overcome. Walking can be accommodated, he can learn to write left handed, but being able to communicate effectively will need a lot of work.

We have a hard road to travel. At this point, Kit has no function of his dominant right arm and communication is tough due to slurred speech and word muddling when trying to speak to us. He is mostly alert and understands what is being said, so he is cooperative with his doctors and treatment plan.

Now a little about what we need help with. We live in Lakeland, Florida, and have been keeping our heads above water with our finances up to this point. Unfortunately, we are a single-income family and will not be able to cover our bills and house payment in the coming months. Kit does have short and long-term disability, but it will not cover our monthly expenses.

Our hope is that he will eventually be able to return to work at Disney after some intensive therapy and rehab.

Any help is appreciated. Right now, I just feel blessed to still have Kit here with me.

I will be adding more to our story as we navigate our way through this portion of our life.