Help Our Father Get the Care He Deserves

On September 9th, 2019, our father, Parker (64), did not show up to work.  He is always punctual, and when he did not show, his boss tried to contact him, however; could not reach our dad.  He then called for a wellness check at our father's apartment which resulted in the police and firemen going into his apartment and finding him lying on the ground - immobile, weak, and in imminent danger. 

He was mercy flighted to Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta, GA) because he had a severe stroke.  He immediately went into surgery and several blood clots were found in his brain.  The medical team was able to remove most of the clots, but did not know if they had gotten all of them.  Before surgery our dad was half-paralyzed; his brain did not recognize the entire left side of his body, and he was not able to turn his head or eyes to the left.  His two right extremities (arm and leg) were able to function, but had no movement or sensation in his left extremities (arm and leg).  He had immediate swelling in his brain, which was very concerning to the doctors.  He was administered salt solutions to attempt to pull the excess fluids from his brain and other parts.  They did an ultrasound of his chest which presented a hole in his septum, which is the dividing wall between the right and left chambers of the heart, so essentially has a small hole in his heart. A Trans-esophageal Echocardiography (TEE), a diagnostic test which employs ultrasound waves to make images of the heart chambers and valves, was performed. It showed no signs of blood clots in his heart.  The root cause of the stroke is still unknown.  

Our father is in the Stroke ICU, and it is unclear when he will be able to go down to a less intensive care without risk of another stroke (the likelihood of another stroke is higher now).  This is a day-to-day situation, however; the doctors do not think he will make a full recovery, and do not think the left side of his body will fully recover.  As of now, he can only make small, sporadic, random movements with his left hand and leg, but is unable to do anything on command.  With Occupational/Physical/Speech Therapy, he has the potential to gain enough sensation/feeling, movement, strength on his left side to at least function. Temporary/permanent paralysis cannot be predicted, but if there is dead tissue in certain parts, he will lose all functionality.

Once he is able to be discharged from the hospital, he will go to Sub Actue Rehabilitation (SAR) in Atlanta, an in-patient facility for 21 days, and for 2 hours each day he will do Occupational/Physical/Speech Therapy.   Then, we will have to bring him back to Rochester, New York as he does not have any family besides us three kids who reside in Rochester, New York, and he currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.  Shawn (29 - FT job), Cassidy (24 - stay at home mom with 2 kids (5 & 3)), and Taylor (20 - college student in Buffalo, NY).  We do not know the kind of care he will need, but are preparing for around-the-clock care.  His brain will need rewiring and he may be in a position where he has to learn how to walk again (if able to), along with other basic functions. 

Our family is asking for serious help from anyone who is able to.  All contributions are GREATLY appreciated.  All money raised will go directly toward medical expenses/treatment, the mercy flight (potentially tens of thousands of dollars), medications, covering his bills, potential relocation and moving fees, family flights for visiting.   At the very least, the doctors have said it will be 6-9 months. 

For anyone who has reached out and has been checking in, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We will be continually posting updates as we receive them.  This is a very emotionally/mentally/physically draining situation for us three kids and we are doing our best to get everything situated, and most importantly, to get our dad the best care possible.   We are blessed he is alive.