Support Becky on Her Road to Stroke Recovery

Hello friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers,

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Ryan Lacey. Alongside my brother Kyle, we are writing this on behalf of our mom, Becky. On the evening of Saturday, June 24th, 2023, our mom tragically suffered from an ischemic stroke. The stroke occurred while she was working her part-time job. By some miracle, a stranger passing by recognized the stroke symptoms, called 911, and waited by her side until EMTs arrived. The EMTs then rushed her to our local hospital in Southern Maryland. It was later that night when she was promptly flown to Georgetown University Hospital in DC, followed by an additional emergency flight to Washington Hospital Center the next morning. Within 48 hours she received not one, but two emergency surgeries to remove a blood clot in her brain and four additional blood clots that were found in her right arm. She stayed at Washington Hospital Center for 2 months, followed by another 2 months of rehab from the National Rehab Hospital (NRH).

The night of her stroke, Kyle was working. He received a call from my mom’s coworker explaining that she was enroute to the hospital by ambulance, and that she was unable to talk on the phone. It was only seconds later that he called me. Instantly, Kyle dropped everything he was doing and drove to meet her at the hospital. I would later join them after she arrived in DC. Entering her room was one of the scariest, most heartbreaking things we’ve ever experienced; seeing her in that condition was a total shock. Nothing was certain, we were preparing for the reality that we would lose our mom within the next 24 hours. Thankfully the stroke team at Georgetown, and the vascular team at Washington Hospital Center, were able to pull off the second miracle: they removed all of the clots in her arm and her brain. While this was amazing news, we hardly had time to celebrate because for the next 2 months, all we would do was sit and wait hoping our mom would wake up from her coma.

Eventually our mom did come out of her coma, but since waking up she has been fighting a constant uphill battle. She had, and is continuing to, relearn how to speak, how to eat, how to use her arms and legs, not to mention the countless other day-to-day tasks that many of us take for granted. Her fight began the second she was able to start rehab at NRH. The physical and occupational therapists at NRH helped her develop these skills until they felt she was ready to come home. While we were thrilled she was able to come home, she still has an incredibly long road of recovery ahead of her.

This stroke nearly cost our mom both her arms and her left leg, let alone her life. As it stands she may never get motorfunction in her left arm ever again, and may be forced to rely on a cane and a leg brace in order to walk. She has lost both of her jobs, had to sell her Jeep, had to rehome our dog, and is now having to sell her home in order to survive this stroke and attempt to lead a normal life again. I can’t begin to describe the heartache we felt, and continue to feel, when we realized that saving her life would cost us all so much. I think I can speak for the three of us when I say that we've never been so scared, and never felt so helpless in our entire lives.

We tried our best to balance the large financial burden of medical bills, doctors appointments, and therapy sessions on our own. However, in addition to acting as our moms full time caregivers, we also had to maintain ourselves. As two 24 year olds, the responsibility of managing our jobs, households, and finances in addition to our moms has become too much to handle. We are now looking for any and all outside assistance we can get to alleviate some of this burden. A burden that no one should ever have to take on alone. The struggles of stroke recovery continue, and may never stop impacting my mom, brother, and my own mental, physical, and emotional health.

If this was your mother, I can say with confidence that my mom would be one of the first to offer a helping hand. There are still good and generous people in the world; my mom is one of them, much like you all. Believe me when I tell you the world is a much better place with her in it. My mom is the best mother we could have asked for, patient and understanding, honest and hardworking, she always made sure our needs were met and our happiness was put first. Additionally, she is a loving daughter, a dedicated dog-mom, and friend to just about anyone who has ever stopped to chat with her. She was always a standup role model at work, an active member of our local community, and a dedicated member of the Catholic Church. She is not only the best mom, but one of the best friends anyone could ask for.

We know that there is much turmoil in the world right now, and that there are many other great causes to donate towards, but if my mom, my family, or I have ever touched your heart, or someone you know, we would be eternally grateful for anything you can spare to help us at this time. As I said before, we have explored a variety of options to try and handle this situation on our own but realistically we need all the help we can get. The bills are finally starting to add up and our mom is running out of time. Saving someone’s life shouldn’t ruin their life. Please help us get Becky back on her feet.

Thank you all for your kindness and support!

Best Wishes,

The Lacey Family