Yari Bundy Medical Recovery Fund

Robin Bundy is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Yari Bundy.

Donation protected

On the morning of February 18th, at 10:59 am, I received a call from Yari. In only a few faint words, he said he'd been unable to get up from the bathroom floor and needed me to come now. I had been waiting for his call telling me that he was on his way up to Winters, where I live and where we've been working on converting his Greyhound bus into a rolling music studio, so when the phone rang, I was not surprised. His words were surreal. The gravity of what he was saying would not hit me for several hours. As I drove towards Oakland I called the advice nurse at Kaiser Hospital. She needed to talk to him, as the only information I could give was that he was unable to move from the bathroom floor, he had been vomiting, was severely dizzy and had to crawl to his bedroom to find his phone to call me.

I pulled off the highway to make a 3-way call between the nurse, Yari and I. As the phone continued to ring with no answer, call after call, I began to realize something more than the flu was happening. Rapid Response was alerted as well as police to assist in entering Yari's apartment before I could get there, as I was at least 45 minutes away, barring any unforeseen traffic accidents and back ups. Somehow, I arrived before the paramedics and let them in.

As I watched my son being carried down his apartment stairs, lifted on to a gurney and rolled into the ambulance, non of it felt real, much like acting out the details of a play before opening night. I left for the hospital hoping to beat the ambulance to the ER but Yari was already in the emergency room when I arrived, pale and barely communicating. As we waited for word from the doctors, nothing felt real. Yari was definitely sick, really sick. As he relived his experience, we learned that he had been feeling dizzy and nauseous and that the right side of his body seemed to be pulling him to the right as well as hindering his left side movement and control. As he recalled what had happened, the doctors became more concerned, as they had initially thought he had a severe case of the flu. An MRI was ordered along with several blood tests.

Finally, after a few hours of waiting we were told that Yari had suffered a Cerebellar Stroke. They were all baffled due to Yari’s age (39) and his excellent health. Throughout the day and late into the evening, Yari had many more tests, including a CT scan to look for bleeding in the brain, which gratefully, was benign.

After 11 long and miserable hours in the ER, Yari was admitted and taken to his room. Many more tests were administered, including an echocardiogram, more blood tests and something they call a Bubble Study to check for any holes that might be present in the heart.

Yari is recovering and feeling much better now. We have more tests, physical and occupational therapy, fitting for a heart monitor as well as a procedure called a TEE, where a scope is inserted down the esophagus next to the heart to look for any holes or defects.

With Yari’s ok, I’ve created this GoFundMe page as a way to help him pay for his medical bills and to help him financially through this time while he has been unable to return to work. We are not sure yet what the final expenses will be, as he has more tests, procedures and doctors visits ahead. I wanted to hold off on posting this page until we had an exact amount needed, but his bills are quickly piling up and he has not yet been able to return to work. I have never liked asking for help, but this is my son, and he needs whatever help you can offer right now. Nothing is too small, and everything helps. We will keep you all updated on his recovery. He is doing well, much better than doctors expected. They are still shaking their heads, trying to figure out why he had a stroke! The work now, is to continue testing and investigating to find the cause, and correct it. According to the doctors, a cerebellar stroke is the “best” kind of stroke to have, easy for them to say, because there is normally a full recovery and no long term side effects. So with physical therapy and time the outlook is very good!!

The doctors and staff at Kaiser have been incredible and as Yari’s mom, I thank them from the deepest part of me for taking such excellent and compassionate care of my boy!!!

Thank you to all our friends and family for your love and support during this difficult and completely unexpected process. We love you so much and wouldn’t have been able to get through this without you!!