Tariq's 2022 Life Fund

In July we had high hopes that our dad, Tariq Khan, would be in good health for his son’s wedding on September 5th, 2021. Dad’s one wish was to be able to walk down the aisle at his son’s wedding. His family - four children, three grandchildren, and friends - is all that truly matters to him.

 

Dad grew up in a village in Pakistan and came to the United States in August 1981 when he was 25 years old. Since then, he’s lived in the Bay Area, raised a family in Albany and started several businesses. He has a big personality and has been generous to all. At his career peak he was a pioneer in the computer business, and one of the first Apple dealers, and gave many computers to the Albany elementary schools.

 

His health crisis started when he was driving in El Cerrito to drop off treats to his three grandchildren, who lived up the hill from him. He felt unwell and lost control of his car. Fortunately, he was driving in town and only ran into a curb. He went to the emergency room and found out he had had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), a form of stroke.

 

Tariq had carotid artery surgery a few months later, and it was successful. But then it immediately became apparent that he needed another surgery, a triple bypass heart surgery, to alleviate his dangerously high blood pressure. By this point he was in the emergency room almost daily in attempts to control his wildly fluctuating blood pressure. After getting a second and then a third doctor’s opinions, he decided to get the triple bypass heart surgery before the wedding so he would have time to recover.

 

His surgery was on July 14th, 2021 and we as a family felt relieved and hopeful that his health would improve after surgery and he would have a new lease on life. Either during or right after surgery in the ICU he suffered from a massive stroke. Instead of focusing on his heart surgery recovery, we were only thinking about his stroke recovery.

 

His left side was, and still is, paralyzed and we were told by doctors that he would never walk again. Days later he started to talk, but most comfortably in his native tongue, Urdu. We were all hopeful and excited about each and every new improvement in his speech or movements.

 

Family and friends rallied around so he had visitors with him constantly to keep his spirits up and help him with his physical therapy. While he was in skilled nursing at Kaiser, he was making progress and able to stand and walk along a wall holding a railing. We all thought he would continue to improve and heal over time.

 

About six weeks after his surgery, he was discharged from Kaiser. Unfortunately going home was not an option, because he was unable to walk or take care of himself. Based on the Kaiser case manager’s recommendation he was moved to an Assisted Living Facility. The next day he tried to get out of his chair and had a very bad fall and had to go to the emergency room and get stitches in his head. His head and left side were badly bruised. Worried that the assisted living facility was ill equipped to properly care for Tariq, his children brought him home to care for him.

 

After four days and nights of his children caring for him at home, it soon became clear that he needed 24-hour professional care.

 

After searching again, we found a residential care home for him in Pleasant Hill. The caregivers were wonderful, but the drive alone to visit him took one hour, and he received fewer visits. Depression is a common symptom among stroke victims, and can even hinder healing. We gradually realized that he needs to live in a place where he can have more frequent visitors. The several weeks dad lived in Pleasant Hill, he had a noticeable decline in cognitive and physical abilities.

 

Each move has been very difficult for us to navigate because all of the housing options are expensive and cost more than his income. The care homes get more expensive the closer they are located to the Bay Area. Most of dad’s family and friends live near El Cerrito and Albany. We found him another residential care home in El Cerrito in time for our Thanksgiving gathering in Albany.

 

We are thankful that dad was able to attend his son’s wedding, even though he was not able to walk down the aisle.

 

Which brings us to the reason for his GoFundMe page. Dad does not have long term care or any assets. His income includes Social Security benefits and he is receiving SDI because he was working at the time of his stroke. SDI benefits last for only 52 weeks. His residential care home costs are more than twice the amount of his current income.

 

At this time, he does not qualify for long term care through MediCal, so all of his expenses have to be paid with private money. We would be grateful for your help to pay for his monthly living expenses for the next year so he can continue to live close to us and we can spend as much time with him as possible. We understand if you are unable to donate at this time. You can also help by commenting and/or sharing this information with others.

 

Thank you from his four loving children,

Briana, Caleb, Aisha & Sabina

And a word from Tariq himself: