Juli's Journey to recovery after Stroke
Donation protected
On the morning of December 10, 2013, after 3 days of having a stiff neck, and not feeling "quite right", Juli was driving home from work and suddenly lost her peripheral vision and felt numbness and tingling in her right arm. She called her mother and the doctor and went home for the day. A while later her father found her on the bathroom floor. She was unable to pick herself up and she her speech was impaired. After carrying her to the couch, he called 911. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Her body was like jello. She had double vision. There was significant numbness and she was unable to move the right side of her body. After multiple hours and many tests it was determined that she had suffered a Vertebral Artery Dissection (VAD).
VAD is dissection (a flap-like tear) of the inner lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain. After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening the artery wall and often impeding blood flow. The symptoms of vertebral artery dissection include head and neck pain and intermittent or permanent stroke symptoms such as difficulty speaking, impaired coordination and visual loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebral_artery_dissection
With the help of physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists she is going through the process of retraining her brain and muscles to work together the way they always have, the way they should.
My sister, Juli, is a 27 year old single mother. She has a beautiful 7 year old daughter, Athena. She works as a school bus driver and takes classes at night to one day become a teacher. She's young and beautiful, smart and funny. Most importantly she's a fighter.
We are raising money to make sure Juli's medical expenses and everyday bills are paid and her daughter has everything she needs while she is away from home. We have no idea how long it will be before she will be able to go home, and once home, how long she will be out of work.
Her body was like jello. She had double vision. There was significant numbness and she was unable to move the right side of her body. After multiple hours and many tests it was determined that she had suffered a Vertebral Artery Dissection (VAD).
VAD is dissection (a flap-like tear) of the inner lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain. After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening the artery wall and often impeding blood flow. The symptoms of vertebral artery dissection include head and neck pain and intermittent or permanent stroke symptoms such as difficulty speaking, impaired coordination and visual loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebral_artery_dissection
With the help of physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists she is going through the process of retraining her brain and muscles to work together the way they always have, the way they should.
My sister, Juli, is a 27 year old single mother. She has a beautiful 7 year old daughter, Athena. She works as a school bus driver and takes classes at night to one day become a teacher. She's young and beautiful, smart and funny. Most importantly she's a fighter.
We are raising money to make sure Juli's medical expenses and everyday bills are paid and her daughter has everything she needs while she is away from home. We have no idea how long it will be before she will be able to go home, and once home, how long she will be out of work.
Organizer
Beth Karas
Organizer
Nashua, NH