Help Cody with his stroke recovery!

"Oopsie daisy, I had a strokey-poo" - Cody

As some of you may already know, Cody had a pretty severe stroke on January 19th. It happened while at work and thankfully EMS was called within minutes. He received TNK (a powerful blood-thinning medication) within an hour which ultimately saved his life and prevented further deterioration of his brain cells. He was originally received at Good Samaritan Hospital and then had to be medevac'd to Lutheran Medical Center to receive further treatment. He originally lost full mobility on the left side of his body including his leg and arm and had full paralysis on the left side of his face. He had a fair amount of bleeding in the brain but since then it's completely dissipated due to the help received at Lutheran. He spent 5 nights in the ICU getting poked and prodded to figure out why they think he had a stroke at such a young age. Unbeknownst to him, he has a small hole in his heart called PFO (1/5 people have it, most of the time without ever knowing). This PFO allows blood clots to travel into the heart and shoot up to the brain when they'd typically get dissolved in your lungs. In a couple of months he will undergo surgery to close this PFO to reduce the chances of future strokes.

Since the first 2-3 months of therapy is crucial for his recovery, he will be at Craig Hospital (an acute therapy and neurorehabilitation center) where he'll spend most of his day doing OT, PT, and speech therapy and giving them a "run for their money". He'll likely be here for a couple of weeks as they assess his strengths and weaknesses and come up with a plan for his "path to independence". He'll then do extensive outpatient therapy until he's confident enough to perform his therapy at home.

Since the accident however, Cody's already made a rather miraculous recovery! He's gained almost full mobility back in his leg and his speech is improving daily as his facial paralysis continues to recede. He can lift his left arm above his head but the movement and dexterity in his fingers has yet to come back. He doesn't doubt himself for a second and with the support from his Craig Hospital team, family, and friends, we're confident he'll make a full or near-full recovery in no time!

We've been hesitant to ask for help the past week (we're stubborn!), but as you all know the medical bills from this accident will be substantial. I wanted to start a Go Fund Me to help through this financial burden so we can focus on getting him the help and support he needs for the immediate future and potentially (but hopefully not) years to come. Thank you for taking the time to read this, we'll continue to keep everyone updated about his progress!

With love, Leah & Cody