Last Tuesday, 12/13, I suffered a stroke, my wife Amber immediately called 911 and they were at my house within minutes to get me to the hospital. Since then I underwent several tests, echo, MRI, labwork, you name it to figure out the source. We spent 4 nights in the hospital, ER visits, and recovery rooms.

Doctors determined my stroke was caused by a hole in my heart I've had since birth, called a PFO or Patent Foramen Ovale, which is between the two chambers, allowing blood to mix/pool and possibly form a clot, which is exactly what happened.

I was paralyzed on my right side and could not verbalize any form of communication for roughly 2 hours, when I got to the hospital and had a doctor speak to me, I was able to have clear sentences and regain motor functions. I've been incredibly lucky in my recovery, there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage, although my brain is working overtime to heal and compensate for the stroke-affected area.

The next piece of my recovery will be having heart surgery to patch the hole, I don't have dates on that yet, but it is of high importance to close it up! The procedure is minimally invasive, goes through the groin and they run something through there to reach the heart. It's still major surgery but I know I need it to have peace of mind knowing I won't have any more strokes.

I'm also going to be seeing a headache/migraine specialist since they noticed tiny white spots in my brain and they want to get my chronic headache/pain under control. These weren't the cause of the stroke, but these are risk factors.

We wanted to want to set this up because we don't currently have insurance, I applied for insurance next year so that will help a lot for all the follow-up appointments I have. This is just the initial bill I got, it mostly covers all of the room stays, lab work and tests. I do not see ambulance /paramedic charges or any of the doctor bills and will add to this total once those start coming in. Heart surgery bills are down the road and we may ask for help with that, too. Fortunately, the hospital knocked off 50% of the expenses due to being self-pay/uninsured, it could have been a lot worse!

Anything you donate will help offset this financial burden from this terrible situation. I'm lucky to be alive and to have my health and I'm taking steps to focus on my wellness to reduce the chance of me having another stroke.

Thank you all for your support,

Todd aka Llamatodd