Dana McGee
Donation protected
First and foremost, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us get this far in our dad’s journey of recovery and healing. This isn’t something Dana and I ever thought we would have to do. Something our dad always taught us growing up was that W.O.R.K is not a radio station and to work for everything we had. The decision to finally come here and ask for help has been a struggle for us. We are forever grateful for the willingness of those around us offering to help and can never thank you all enough. This journey has been a roller coaster of emotions and is just the beginning of the great fight our dad has and will continue to put up. His strength is truly inspiring. If you’re interested to see just how amazing he is in this journey keep reading…
On February 21, 2018, our dad suffered a massive stroke affecting 70 % of his brain and left him paralyzed on the left side of his body with vision deficits. Immediately placing Dana and I into a role to care for and make decisions for a man who had always cared for and taken care of us. Now we had to care for him in life threatening circumstances. Our dad was sent into emergency surgery following our consent and family and friends gathered all around Bayfront Hospital for the next few hours praying and then we got the news; our nightmare continued. The surgery was unsuccessful in removing the blood clot that caused the stroke. Devastated and afraid for our dad’s life we were given another opportunity by an amazing neurosurgeon and his team to perform a high-risk brain surgery. We could either wait to see if our dad would wake up on his own or we authorize to have his skull cut open and operated on to stop his brain from bleeding. I will never forget that moment. I stood there silent and sobbing and Dana stepped up and said “How soon can you have the operating room ready?” I couldn’t even form words enough to speak let alone make that kind of decision and here was my younger brother ready and willing to do whatever it took to save our dads life. Together, hand in hand, we walked down to see our dad both silently wondering if this was our last time together. The next few hours felt different in that hospital. Few words were spoken over that time of waiting but they didn’t have to be. Everyone was there for the same reason. To support a man who had always supported all of us. In the hardest moments of our lives waiting for the surgery to be over, I realized just how many people’s lives my dad had touched. There were friends and family everywhere. We took over Bayfront that night and every corner of that west wing was a friend or family member crouching in a corner praying for our dad, their brother, their uncle, their cousin, their bestfriend, their son in law, their coach, their neighbor, and in those moments, he was everything to all of us. We cannot thank Dr. Kirk Jobe, his PA Casie Parker, and the rest of that absolutely incredible neuro team for the success of that surgery. Our dad was alive, still not awake but alive. For the next seven days and nights I laid next to my dad squeezing his hand praying he would squeeze back. I never left the hospital a single time in that first week. I knew if roles were reversed he wouldn’t have left either. And another part of me stayed because I was so in awe of the miracle I was witnessing within my dad. The little changes I saw everyday within my dad were amazing. Some days he would just breathe really heavy and the noise brought an instant calm to my soul, other days he would move his nose and I was just amazed at the things he was starting to do by himself again. Somewhere around day 4 (times blurry when you never see the night turn to day and the day turn to night from inside a hospital room) he squeezed my hand back. Sometime in the second week he started to open his eyes and look at us again. That was a huge win that day. Then he started to try to communicate and make noises and we are forever grateful for his ability to talk again. My family and I cannot thank all the nurses enough for the amazing care they provided for our dad during this time. Over the course of the next month as a family we basically moved into that hospital and every day was a different story. There were ups and downs but mostly ups because he was fighting to get better every day.
About 8 months later and lots of rehab stays in between he’s still fighting to get better. He is at home now and my brother lives with him full time. The rest of our family and friends still take shifts every day to care for him. He currently does three days a week at physical therapy learning to walk again and regain strength and movement in his left arm. This page is asking for help to pay for the following: medical expenses (you all don’t even want to know how much), a wheelchair accessible vehicle, more physical therapy sessions that his insurance will not cover, caregivers, and the daily basic needs of life that are hard to fulfill without my dad’s income. Anything helps. Again, thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far. We could not have done it without each and every one of you.
On February 21, 2018, our dad suffered a massive stroke affecting 70 % of his brain and left him paralyzed on the left side of his body with vision deficits. Immediately placing Dana and I into a role to care for and make decisions for a man who had always cared for and taken care of us. Now we had to care for him in life threatening circumstances. Our dad was sent into emergency surgery following our consent and family and friends gathered all around Bayfront Hospital for the next few hours praying and then we got the news; our nightmare continued. The surgery was unsuccessful in removing the blood clot that caused the stroke. Devastated and afraid for our dad’s life we were given another opportunity by an amazing neurosurgeon and his team to perform a high-risk brain surgery. We could either wait to see if our dad would wake up on his own or we authorize to have his skull cut open and operated on to stop his brain from bleeding. I will never forget that moment. I stood there silent and sobbing and Dana stepped up and said “How soon can you have the operating room ready?” I couldn’t even form words enough to speak let alone make that kind of decision and here was my younger brother ready and willing to do whatever it took to save our dads life. Together, hand in hand, we walked down to see our dad both silently wondering if this was our last time together. The next few hours felt different in that hospital. Few words were spoken over that time of waiting but they didn’t have to be. Everyone was there for the same reason. To support a man who had always supported all of us. In the hardest moments of our lives waiting for the surgery to be over, I realized just how many people’s lives my dad had touched. There were friends and family everywhere. We took over Bayfront that night and every corner of that west wing was a friend or family member crouching in a corner praying for our dad, their brother, their uncle, their cousin, their bestfriend, their son in law, their coach, their neighbor, and in those moments, he was everything to all of us. We cannot thank Dr. Kirk Jobe, his PA Casie Parker, and the rest of that absolutely incredible neuro team for the success of that surgery. Our dad was alive, still not awake but alive. For the next seven days and nights I laid next to my dad squeezing his hand praying he would squeeze back. I never left the hospital a single time in that first week. I knew if roles were reversed he wouldn’t have left either. And another part of me stayed because I was so in awe of the miracle I was witnessing within my dad. The little changes I saw everyday within my dad were amazing. Some days he would just breathe really heavy and the noise brought an instant calm to my soul, other days he would move his nose and I was just amazed at the things he was starting to do by himself again. Somewhere around day 4 (times blurry when you never see the night turn to day and the day turn to night from inside a hospital room) he squeezed my hand back. Sometime in the second week he started to open his eyes and look at us again. That was a huge win that day. Then he started to try to communicate and make noises and we are forever grateful for his ability to talk again. My family and I cannot thank all the nurses enough for the amazing care they provided for our dad during this time. Over the course of the next month as a family we basically moved into that hospital and every day was a different story. There were ups and downs but mostly ups because he was fighting to get better every day.
About 8 months later and lots of rehab stays in between he’s still fighting to get better. He is at home now and my brother lives with him full time. The rest of our family and friends still take shifts every day to care for him. He currently does three days a week at physical therapy learning to walk again and regain strength and movement in his left arm. This page is asking for help to pay for the following: medical expenses (you all don’t even want to know how much), a wheelchair accessible vehicle, more physical therapy sessions that his insurance will not cover, caregivers, and the daily basic needs of life that are hard to fulfill without my dad’s income. Anything helps. Again, thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far. We could not have done it without each and every one of you.
Co-organizers (2)
Alyssa McGee
Organizer
St. Petersburg, FL
Dana McGee
Co-organizer