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Nok's Rally Against Major Stroke

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"Through your help we can help Nok recover some independence, and thus improve her quality of life."

My Story
My name is Jerry Safford. I grew up in south Florida and joined the U.S. Air Force after high school. I loved sports and played softball and baseball throughout my career. My second assignment was to Guam in 1978. This is where I met my lovely wife Nok and married her in 1979. She is from Buriram, Thailand. She grew up as a rice farmer. She also taught herself how to sew. Throughout our marriage she always worked as a seamstress. She always loved vegetable gardens and to plant beautiful flowers. After retiring from the military we settled down in Valdosta, Georgia.
My wife and I was involved for about 10 years with the Valdosta Asian Cultural Association which was later named Georgia International Folk Fair. She represented her country of Thailand where 7th graders held field trips learning about different cultures around the world.

The day I will never forget!It was about 2 A.M. on Jan. 22, 2016 when I came home from work and walked in into my living room and seen my wife of 36 years lying on her back. Her eyes were opened and was staring at me, but she could not speak. As I walked closer to her, she took her left hand and was tapping my leg as if she was trying to say, "help me". I called 911 and from there my life was turned upside down in a matter of milliseconds.

They took her to South Georgia Medical Center and completed a cat scan and told me she had a hemorrhagic stroke. I was told they were going to fly her to Tallahassee Memorial. The weather was bad, so they took her by ambulance. She was in ICU about 12 days. It was about 5 days before she opened her eyes. She was later transferred to Select Specialty Hospital in Tallahassee. She was there from Feb. 03 thru March 1st. She was moved to Brooks Rehab Hospital in Jacksonville, FL on March 1st. until she came home on April 01, 2016. No April fools day for me!

She worked as a seamstress up until this emotional event. I also was working until I became her caregiver and had to resign from work. I had to dig into my 401k at an early age of 59 1/2. I applied for Medicaid and was turned down. I applied for aid and attendance through VA and was disapproved because I did not have 30% disability. She did get approved for social security disability with a whopping $59 more than she was getting for social security. I'm still grateful though as any
little bit helps.

My wife's stroke was a bleed on her left side of the brain which affected her speech and is called expressive aphasia. Her right side was affected and currently cannot move her right arm/hand and right foot. She can move her right leg, but cannot walk. She is going to speech, occupational, and physical therapy. If anybody out there who has ever been a caregiver to a disabled person, you know what I've been through. If not, I never want anyone to have to go through this terrible debilitating event. Caregivers need respite, which means a break from their duties. It cost a bit of money to hire someone to do these duties.

My goal is to raise enough funds to make up for lost wages, medical bills and buy a RT 300-SLSA with Sage 10, which is a piece of equipment that you can cycle with your hands or feet with a computer monitor with electrical stimulation. I was told it is $23,900. Check it out here .They had one of these at Brooks Rehab Hospital.

For my wife's quality of life, I plan on turning my backyard to a wheelchair accessible area  with raised garden beds that will make it easier for my wife. Click here to see video of raised garden beds. She loves flowers and vegetable gardens.

The Impact 
I want to emphasize that you are contributing to a vital cause. Stroke victims are prone to have mood depression which is a serious complication after a stroke. Nok must deal with the impact of medication. Also, with the sadness of what happened to her. They are also susceptible to having another stroke, so close monitoring of her vital signs are very important.

So, by reaching our goal it will enable Nok to live a more active lifestyle. Also, by her ability to tend to her gardens will have a therapeutic effect on her mood. So, why not give somebody that is so precious the best life you can to lower her chances of depression.

What I Need & What You Get
This campaign is the most important motivation factor I have in my life. Just put yourself in my shoes as a husband and after 36 years of marriage, you suddenly with a blink of an eye become a caregiver to your loved one that is now dependent on you around the clock.
Now you want to do the best for her in whatever it takes to give her the highest quality of life that you can afford.  Without your help, her quality of life will be  drastically diminished which could cause greater problems like depression and even muscle atrophy.

I'm hoping everyone responds in a positive way where I can say we made it and update everyone with pictures of her tending her gardens and exercising on her machine with nothing but great big smiles! Then everyone can get that good feeling inside by knowing you helped someone smile and improved their quality of life!

Other Ways To Help
It's great when people can help donate. But if you can't donate at this time, it doesn't mean that you can't help. Please share my story via social media, email and word of mouth to tell your friends about my campaign. Thank you in advance!

I was told by doctors that my wife is lucky that she survived this incident. I believe God saved her for a reason and I know for a fact it has brought me closer to the Lord my savior. I have shed more tears in this incident than my entire life!

In closing, I want to let everyone know that I will be giving updates on my wife during this campaign. I want to thank everyone in advance that can help Nok and I achieve our campaign goal. God bless you all!

Love,
Jerry & Nok

Organizer

Jerry Safford
Organizer
Valdosta, GA

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