On Saturday, May 24th David and I went to the hospital in Batavia since his whole right side had gone numb and he was disoriented and confused. When we got there they did the Stroke Protocol. They found that he had a massive Ischemic Stroke. This stroke happens when an artery in the brain is blocked. David had a blocked artery on the left side of the back of his head. The stroke affected the left side of his brain which caused the right-side numbness. Due to the stroke David also has Homonymous Hemianopia. This is when the vision is lost in one side of the eye. So, for David he has lost the vision on the right side of both eyes. He also has Aphasia which is a communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process and understand language, affecting their ability to speak, write, read and understand others. Now David has no trouble speaking but does have issues with reading and some difficulty finding the words he wants to use. Having both the Homonymous Hemianopia and Aphasia together makes it more difficult for him read and identify some things.
Now this is not to say that David is down and out. For any of you that know him he is still the same smart-ass charmer that he always was. On the day he was admitted to the hospital the female doctor asked how old he was, and he told her he couldn’t answer that since she would fall in love with him if she knew. He still comes back with the quick quips and can tell a story like no tomorrow. As for walking he is doing fantastic with that. He may not even need a walker when we leave the Rehab.
We are asking for help. David will be down for a while but as he says there is no way he is out yet. He will be out of work for the foreseeable future. We will have a ton of medical bills coming in since he will be in the hospital almost 3 weeks and then therapy ongoing once he gets home. The cost of insurance copays and living expenses will put a strain on our finances. Any help would be greatly appreciated.