Caring for Ira Wagler

"The possession of all things, even the air we breathe, is held from us, and the river of life and time flows through the grasp of our hands, and, for all our hunger and desire, we hold nothing except the trembling moments, one by one." Thomas Wolfe Sunday, July 12th, is a day that changed Ira’s life as he knew it.  When Ira did not show up for work on Monday morning, 911 was called, and Ira was found inside his house with no ability to speak, walk or communicate. After being rushed to the hospital, Ira went through a battery of tests and was initially diagnosed with Wernicke's Encephalopathy.  Wernicke’s Encephalopathy is a diagnosis that is still under review. While Ira is being treated for this, he is also in the process of continued testing, MRI’s, Cardiology care, and a litany of other tests as we continue to search for answers to the questions of what caused this and what treatments to pursue to ensure Ira can return to his normal world. Ira was able to move home on 9/20! Currently, Ira is on unpaid leave from his job, so while his living expenses are minimal, the medical bills are continuing. However, we praise God for the first steps of getting him settled in his home, and we are SO grateful to all of you for your ongoing prayers and support! As of today: Physically, Ira can do many things he was able to do in the past, such as walks, showers, self-care, and chores around his house. He loves visits from his friends and family!  Mentally, Ira has long term memory, he loves hearing from all of you, and he hungrily re-reads blogs, letters, and his books. He also watches his past interviews in his quest to work on his short-term memory lapses. His short-term memory is the area where he most needs support.  In the past few days, as he moved home, he has been able to learn and retain new things, so our belief in his complete healing remains. He has started keeping a calendar so he can recall events, items of importance of the day, and times he has meals, to help build and grow his short-term memory. He has also tackled how to do laundry, make coffee, and use the microwave with ease.  Next steps: Neurology assessments and further MRI’s:  we need baseline information so we can ensure that we are making the right decisions for therapy, brain health, and healing. Cardiology assessments and tests:  Ira was in AFIB when he arrived into the ER, so it is vital that we are able to identify any heart issues that might have been connected to this event and his short term memory loss. Care: Ensuring that we have the right care and therapy for Ira as he embarks on this journey to healing. Short-term disability: We have begun the process to get Ira on disability as he works through his recovery. This can be a lengthy process; we are told it will be 3-6 months before disability (both disability and insurance) will kick in. So, we are vigilant in following next steps for this benefit for Ira while he needs it. Time is of the essence, short-term memory and brain health, if recoverable, need to be focused on quickly to ensure brain neurons do not continue to die. So we are committed to finding the right team of specialists to assist and guide in Ira's recovery and care. Many of you have reached out and asked how you can support us, and words cannot express the gratitude Ira and our family feel by the communication from each of you. While financial support is welcome and key to Ira’s ongoing journey, we covet your prayers. We serve a mighty God, and we know that he hears the prayers of his faithful. We believe in healing for Ira! *I want to specifically call out all his “local” friends here in PA who came out to help get Ira’s house ready for his return. Ira loves how clean and organized his house is (his church family, Wilm, Lon (the tenant), Rosita, the Stephen Wagler family, and Esther, hooked him up!). He loves his new kitchen lights, his closet doors, and his new mini blinds (thanks Paul!), his fancy lights on his back porch, and his new “sitting chairs” (thanks Jess!), and he loves his new blue living room rug, compliments of Steve & Ada.  There are SO many of you that have come out to do small tasks and picked up things for me when I needed stuff. I can’t possibly mention you all, but THANK YOU! You all are a true reflection of what the body of Christ does and should do. Seeing Christ’s love reflecting through your service has been humbling.   So, thank you from us. We will post weekly updates on this GoFundMe page, and also on the Lifting up Ira Facebook page. Our goal is to ensure that all of you, as Ira’s friends and support system, can stay connected with Ira, and also be able to pray for specific items as they arise.   Again - thank you from all of us. There are links attached for Ira's blog or his books from Amazon! Ira blogs  Ira books