Help Chris After His Stroke

On Saturday June 4th, 2022, Chris was transported by ambulance to Cedars Sinai after he was found at home, unaware of his surroundings and unable to speak. Chris had suffered a massive stroke, severely affecting the blood supply to the left side of his brain, which caused a substantial loss of his memory, speech and language skills.

Gladys, Chris’ mother, had not heard from her son in a few days. Gladys contacted his friend Michael who found him unresponsive and immediately called the paramedics. Doctors are still unsure how much time had passed between the incident and when he arrived at the hospital though it was the beginning of a long road to recovery.

Chris remained in ICU for four weeks, struggling to regain his ability to move and communicate. After stabilizing from the stroke, Chris had emergency heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart. He was briefly discharged and immediately admitted to a second hospital for three more weeks of evaluation.

Though he has made incredible strides in his progress, Chris is still unable to read or write. He has trouble piecing together sentences due to aphasia, a class of communication disorders that occurs when the brain's language center is damaged.

He can Facetime and, in true Chris form, has been bringing a smile to our faces with his glowing and courageous spirit. We have been laughing and smiling and know that joy and a sense of normalcy will continue to heal him, along with the care of his doctors and specialists.

Chris has, of course, not been able to work and is accruing substantial medical bills. Along with the challenge of losing his income, Chris also needs additional speech therapy each week at $300 per hour.

To the friends, family, and anyone who Chris’ unending kindness has touched: we are coming together to help our friend and provide him with much-needed financial support during his recovery.

At no surprise to anyone who has ever met him, Chris has been in great spirits every step of the way. He continues to find the love, laughter, singing, dancing and joy he brings to everything he does, even through one of the most challenging experiences of his life.

Chris is an angel on earth that would give the shirt off his back to anyone he meets, and we hope to do the same for him.

“You don’t impact the culture through emails and memos. You change it through relationships. One convo at a time.” - Christopher Aponte