Shawns stroke journey to recovery

On March 28th my brother Shawn suffered a stroke while visiting family in Golden. It was his 41st birthday. Shawn and I were out for dinner that evening and on the drive back to my mom's, the stroke occurred. He couldn't communicate with me all of a sudden, his face was droopy and he was confused. I knew it was likely he was having a stroke so I rushed him to the Golden Hospital.

From there he was airlifted to the foothills hospital. Our mother Janice and I rushed in and met Shawn there along with Shawn's wife Michelle who was already in Calgary as they reside there.

It was extremely scary the first night in the emergency department at the foothills. We learned that Shawn's condition was very unique and serious. Shawn immediately received a CT scan when he arrived that told us he had a large blood clot completely blocking his carotid artery which was touching his brain. The doctors were amazing and extremely thorough, explaining they had a team monitoring the situation closely. They informed us they were going to try "old school medicine" where Shawn was to lay flat on his back without being able to lift his head or sit up. The clot was touching Shawn's brain and the options of going in for surgery or using medication were extremely risky/dangerous and a last resort if Shawn's condition worsened. We were told "time" is what Shawn needed and hopefully that would allow the clot to become stable.

Shawn's left side of his brain was damaged which affected his speech and comprehension. There were times he could communicate with us and times he could not. The right side of his body had limited movement.

The next 2 weeks were spent between the Neurology and Stroke units at Foothills Hospital.

Shawn recently graduated from St. Marys University with a bachelor's degree in education. I've watched my brother work his ass off the last few years going back to school to become a teacher. Shawn had spent the previous 18 years working for Hull Services which provides leading-edge child, youth and family mental health services.

Shawn truly makes a difference in our world and especially with our youth.

Shawn had been teaching a Grade 6 class in the NE of Calgary. He was covering a maternity leave on a short-term contract, and not part of the Albertas teacher union because he's just started in the profession.

2 months into this, Shawn is still unable to work and without a driver's license. He's receiving home care rehabilitation therapies.

Due to his career change, he doesn't have long term extended benefits which is why I've created this gofundme account. It's with the sole intention to help my brother Shawn focus on his rehabilitation without the financial stress and create avenues for him to access that his basic medical coverage does not cover.

Feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions or comments.

Thank you for reading and your consideration.

Andrew Englehart