Hello, my name is Amanda Spangle. Many of you know me in Big Valley through my work at the school, in the community, or because of my dad, Walter. He has been a member of the Big Valley community for over 50 years, having graduated from Big Valley High School in 1980. He raised my sister, Isabella, and me in Adin as a single father while also caring for his father, Walt Sr.

On Tuesday, September 23, Walter was flown to Mercy Hospital in Redding after suffering a severe stroke. When he arrived at the hospital, he was not able to speak, eat or drink, or move the entire right side of his body. After an MRI and heart scan, they determined that a blood clot had formed in his heart and moved to his brain stem, causing a severe ischemic stroke that affected every part of his brain.

The doctors have informed us that with the location of the clot and the severity of the stroke, they expect full physical disability, but his cognitive abilities are not expected to be badly impacted. In the last week, Dad has made some amazing progress toward recovery, including being able to speak and squeeze his right hand. He isn’t able to move the rest of his right arm or leg, however, and we are still trying to determine how much brain damage he has sustained.

Dad will hopefully be moved into a skilled nursing facility soon to continue with physical, occupational, and speech therapies and keep making forward progress toward healing. Belle and I are doing everything we can to plan ahead of time for him, but the first few months after a stroke are unpredictable, especially since this is Dad’s second stroke. Right now, it looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time driving back and forth, visiting him, especially with his beloved grandchildren.

We are starting this GoFundMe to help cover the cost of Dad’s medical bills, time in a rehabilitation facility, medical equipment, and any future modifications needed for his home. Thank you for supporting us in Dad’s recovery and for sharing his story to reach more people who might be able to donate.