Wyatt and Sharon Hayes and Family

After careful consideration and speaking with family and friends, we have all decided that reaching out through gofundme is needed.  On Tuesday 2/27 8:50am, as my husband, Wyatt, 46 years old, was getting ready to leave for work, he passed out in the front yard from a hemorrhagic stroke near his brain stem from a ruptured aneurysm he didn't know he had.  He had a headache for almost a week prior, which was the warning sign.  Amazingly, he managed to wake up and call 911 on his own.  I received the call at work at 9:15am.  From there as the events unfolded, by 12:10 he was airlifted from Carrollton to Grady Hospital in Atlanta 40+ miles from home.  Further scans revealed a second aneurysm in the frontal lobe, but is not an immediate threat, but will need attention in the near future.  Currently, he has swelling of the brain, fluid on the brain (he has a shunt through the top of the head draining this), he is on a ventilator, and possibly has pneumonia.  We are waiting on lab results to determine this.  He is heavily sedated and they are controlling his alertness with that.  When he is somewhat alert, he can nod or shake his head yes/no, he can squeeze hands, wiggle toes, and give thumbs up.  There is a 21 day window of risk for new stroke/s from vasospasms from the swelling and fluid.  So far, he has been extraordinarily blessed and lucky.  However, we do know for sure that it is going to be a very long recovery.  He will be in ICU for two weeks and a regular room maybe a week, based on how things look now.  That could change at any moment.  We honestly do not know the extent of the damage at this point or what to expect, but there will be rehab and treatment for the second aneurysm and many return trips to Atlanta to monitor the current aneurysm coil repair.  Wyatt is a professional commercial painter and we do not expect a return to work any time soon.  Though he works for a company, he is considered self employed.  I am a certified teacher and I work for a private center and am missing work right now myself.  Neither Wyatt nor I have health insurance, sick leave, sick day pay, or disability benefits.  Our income simply and suddenly stopped and we have no financial reserves at all.  Additionally, because I teach GA Pre-K (not in the public school system), I am a ten-month employee and my income will stop in mid May, as it is.  We have two children, Jax, 5 and Sydney, 3 and I have my Reid, 11.  Wyatt is unaware of what has happened and cannot make his own health decisions, much less help maintain our life at home or make any other decisions.  When he does wake up, I want to be able to tell him we are fine and I've handled everything.  He is such a strong, determined, hard working, independent, God fearing, loving husband and father and I worry about the psychological impact this is going to have on his sudden disability during recovery.  Our entire circle of family and friends believe 100% in our hearts that he will fully recover eventually, but honestly, health care providers aren't able to say that right now.  We just don't know.  This account is being created to immediately help support and maintain our daily lives at home financially due to loss of income and we haven't even gotten to the billing for healthcare yet.  We think we'll have assistance with that, but nothing has gone through yet.  I will say that I know for a fact that the helicopter life flight is around $40,000 alone.  We really ask for continued prayer, and we definitely see that working nonstop.  If you would like to send a card to Wyatt, I can give you our home address.  And of course, the financial contributions are appreciated more than we can express.  One day soon, when Wyatt is able to pore through the messages, the cards, the posted prayers, the kindness, love, and generosity, it's going to hit him hard.  Very hard.  And Wyatt doesn't cry.  He doesn't quit, either.  He's tougher than a tank, but even tanks need some careful maintenance from time to time.  He has soft spots in that heart and is a 'pay-it-forward' kind of person, so your blessings now will live on and continue when he's back to himself.  Thank you for your thoughts, love, prayers, and assistance.  We'll pray for you all, as well.  Much love~~~Sharon and family  (PS~~~I feel really lost making decisions on my own without Wyatt and don't even know what amount to set the goal at and I feel like I should apologize.  This is just, so....hard.  Thank you.)