Will Taylor Stroke Recovery Fund
Donation protected
Dear Friends and Community,
This is one of the hardest things we have ever had to do, but we are asking for your help.
Some of you will know our story, but for those who don't, Will had a stroke on September 12, 2014. Mary had just left for a weekend backpacking trip, so Will lay on the floor for over 24 hours until our son Ben and family stopped by and found him. The bleed in the basal ganglia on the right side of his brain resulted in loss of function on his left side. He spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital, most of it in rehab, and came home using a walker and needing help to do most everything. We spent several months going to outpatient therapies a couple times a week while his function slowly returned.
In many ways Will's recovery has been a miracle. After so much time without medical care before he was found we are grateful every day that he is alive. He learned to walk on his own again and move his left arm, and with the help of craniosacral and Reike treatment the left sided neglect that he had experienced for months has disappeared. We have been hiking and even backpacking and Will has been fly fishing with his sons a couple times. We even travelled to the Czech Republic last summer where Will taught for five days and then we spent another week traveling in a place that he loves.
But after two years we are realizing that Will is still having some huge struggles. One of the primary effects of stroke is incredible exhaustion, and sleep is one of the ways the brain heals. It is hard to fit in enough time for the sleep and self care he needs. For every time he has improved and felt more energy, there has been a time of becoming exhausted again. Will has been teaching homeopathy classes online from our home for the last four years after leaving his eleven year position at the National College of Natural Medicine. While he had started presenting his classes through another company, he was unable to continue working with them during his recovery, necessitating that he start his own business during this time, and that has required energy he just does not have. Complicating this, he has never regained function in his left hand, continuing to do all his class preparation by typing with one finger, and this past year has had increasing spasticity that is causing pain. He still cannot drive, and can't participate in most things he did around the house and yard while trying to keep up with his work load. Exhaustion and stress decrease his function.
All of this led us to seek out some further evaluation and treatment, and Will has just been seen - in September 2016 - by a wonderful center specializing in brain injury. Their assessment is that the struggles he is having with keeping everything going have to do with cognitive deficits in organization and planning that were not identified before now. The good news is there is help, and he can learn new skills that will improve his cognitive function and address his physical challenges. He is about to begin a comprehensive multidisciplinary eight week program where he will be seen twice a week for three hours each time.
The challenge is that we have not been able to keep the money coming in. Despite Will's best efforts to provide us the salary we need, we are in a financial crisis. We are still paying off his hospital bill, have used up our savings, and have reached the point where we have not been able to pay our mortgage. While our insurance will pay for much of the new rehab program, we will still have to pay our share, and he will have to cut back on his work hours to participate. We have received wonderful help from skilled practitioners outside of the medical insurance system, and we would like to keep using them but can no longer afford to. And we are trying to provide
some resources for Mary's support, as these two years have been extremely challenging for her, also. More than anything, Will needs a break from working so hard so that he can participate in his rehab program, assess what he can realistically do, and have his best chance of returning to a functional, happy life.
Here's what Will has to say:
I’ve alway felt the importance of the principle of Right Livelihood. When I discovered medicine as a career, and again when I discovered homeopathy, I felt the perfect merging of my personal gifts and calling meeting the needs of the world. As a physician concerned with the health of my community, it was important that I earn a living commensurate to that of my community, rather than serving as a financial drain on my community for personal gain. But I’ve been unable to create much of a financial cushion for my family. Between my passion for my work and the realities of being self employed for so long, I have had no vision of an opportunity for retirement in my elder years, subscribing to a “work ‘till you drop” model. I did not take into account the possibility of dropping so soon! I'm so grateful for the support of my loving family and community while I am getting back on my feet.
And from Mary:
From the start, Will and I have tried to live out our values and create a life of meaning for ourselves and our children, and we feel so grateful that we have been able to do that. Since taking care of our health was part of that, we assumed we would be strong and healthy for quite some time, and we are finding ourselves in a place we never expected to be. While these last two years have been the hardest of my life, I am learning that it is life's challenges that give you the best opportunity to face your demons and to grow. I am learning that there is more love in the world than I thought and that sometimes you need to ask for help. Thank you for whatever you can do.
This is one of the hardest things we have ever had to do, but we are asking for your help.
Some of you will know our story, but for those who don't, Will had a stroke on September 12, 2014. Mary had just left for a weekend backpacking trip, so Will lay on the floor for over 24 hours until our son Ben and family stopped by and found him. The bleed in the basal ganglia on the right side of his brain resulted in loss of function on his left side. He spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital, most of it in rehab, and came home using a walker and needing help to do most everything. We spent several months going to outpatient therapies a couple times a week while his function slowly returned.
In many ways Will's recovery has been a miracle. After so much time without medical care before he was found we are grateful every day that he is alive. He learned to walk on his own again and move his left arm, and with the help of craniosacral and Reike treatment the left sided neglect that he had experienced for months has disappeared. We have been hiking and even backpacking and Will has been fly fishing with his sons a couple times. We even travelled to the Czech Republic last summer where Will taught for five days and then we spent another week traveling in a place that he loves.
But after two years we are realizing that Will is still having some huge struggles. One of the primary effects of stroke is incredible exhaustion, and sleep is one of the ways the brain heals. It is hard to fit in enough time for the sleep and self care he needs. For every time he has improved and felt more energy, there has been a time of becoming exhausted again. Will has been teaching homeopathy classes online from our home for the last four years after leaving his eleven year position at the National College of Natural Medicine. While he had started presenting his classes through another company, he was unable to continue working with them during his recovery, necessitating that he start his own business during this time, and that has required energy he just does not have. Complicating this, he has never regained function in his left hand, continuing to do all his class preparation by typing with one finger, and this past year has had increasing spasticity that is causing pain. He still cannot drive, and can't participate in most things he did around the house and yard while trying to keep up with his work load. Exhaustion and stress decrease his function.
All of this led us to seek out some further evaluation and treatment, and Will has just been seen - in September 2016 - by a wonderful center specializing in brain injury. Their assessment is that the struggles he is having with keeping everything going have to do with cognitive deficits in organization and planning that were not identified before now. The good news is there is help, and he can learn new skills that will improve his cognitive function and address his physical challenges. He is about to begin a comprehensive multidisciplinary eight week program where he will be seen twice a week for three hours each time.
The challenge is that we have not been able to keep the money coming in. Despite Will's best efforts to provide us the salary we need, we are in a financial crisis. We are still paying off his hospital bill, have used up our savings, and have reached the point where we have not been able to pay our mortgage. While our insurance will pay for much of the new rehab program, we will still have to pay our share, and he will have to cut back on his work hours to participate. We have received wonderful help from skilled practitioners outside of the medical insurance system, and we would like to keep using them but can no longer afford to. And we are trying to provide
some resources for Mary's support, as these two years have been extremely challenging for her, also. More than anything, Will needs a break from working so hard so that he can participate in his rehab program, assess what he can realistically do, and have his best chance of returning to a functional, happy life.
Here's what Will has to say:
I’ve alway felt the importance of the principle of Right Livelihood. When I discovered medicine as a career, and again when I discovered homeopathy, I felt the perfect merging of my personal gifts and calling meeting the needs of the world. As a physician concerned with the health of my community, it was important that I earn a living commensurate to that of my community, rather than serving as a financial drain on my community for personal gain. But I’ve been unable to create much of a financial cushion for my family. Between my passion for my work and the realities of being self employed for so long, I have had no vision of an opportunity for retirement in my elder years, subscribing to a “work ‘till you drop” model. I did not take into account the possibility of dropping so soon! I'm so grateful for the support of my loving family and community while I am getting back on my feet.
And from Mary:
From the start, Will and I have tried to live out our values and create a life of meaning for ourselves and our children, and we feel so grateful that we have been able to do that. Since taking care of our health was part of that, we assumed we would be strong and healthy for quite some time, and we are finding ourselves in a place we never expected to be. While these last two years have been the hardest of my life, I am learning that it is life's challenges that give you the best opportunity to face your demons and to grow. I am learning that there is more love in the world than I thought and that sometimes you need to ask for help. Thank you for whatever you can do.
Organizer
Will Taylor
Organizer
Portland, OR
