Gerry's stroke recovery fund

Early on May 23rd, Gerry Easley realized he was having a stroke.  Even though he was disoriented and a bit concerned, including being afraid to lie down, he had the whereabouts to call for help.  Although 911 wasn't his first choice, he eventually did dial 911 after a stern "suggestion" from his sister, Helen.  A short while later, the ambulance arrived to whisk him away to the emergency room at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, CA.

After a 7 hour stay in the emergency room, Gerry was transferred to a room for observation, receive treatment and run additional tests to determine the cause of the stroke.  After a 5 day stay, the hospital staff felt it reasonable to transfer him to a rehabilitation center, Rancho los Amigos, in Downey, CA for an undetermined amount of time of recovery and various physical therapies.  The stroke had affected the entire right side of his body, including his speech.  Beyond this, Gerry is facing a one-year time frame for a full recovery as estimated by his neurologist.

Being right handed, he is faced with the daunting task of re-learning how to perform even the most basic of motor and speech skills.  Imagine, if you will, being a musician most of your life, a notable artist and an electronics engineer as your occupation, then faced with the realization that you may not be able to enjoy those things in the same way you use to... sobering and frightening.

Being self employed, coupled with the lack of sufficient health care coverage, hospital and rehabilitation costs are accumulating at a rapid rate and have already become a sizeable amount.  This is something he simply does not have the resources to pay.  In the mean time, efforts are in the works by some dedicated and diligent people to obtain adequate health care coverage; however, it will take several months for the coverage benefits to become effective.