The Most Difficult Struggle
Thanks to you, a young family conquers the odds.
“January 12, 2017 was a normal day for us. We went to work that day and then went out to dinner to celebrate Felix’s 28th birthday that night. Upon arrival back home, I put Bailey to bed and fell asleep shortly after. Felix went to bed around 10 pm, knowing that he would need to wake up early the next morning for work.
At 1 am on January 13, Felix woke me up because he wasn’t feeling well and was scared because his left arm and leg felt numb. Shortly after, he got a headache and said that he was going to be sick. While getting sick, he fell off of the bed. I called 911 and waited as medical personnel showed up.
Through it all, I was surprisingly calm. I was obviously worried but I think that my adrenaline kicked in and I just went into autopilot.
After arriving at Novant Health, they discovered that Felix suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, also called a bleeding stroke. We were told that he only had a 10-20% chance of living and that, even if he did, there was only a 5% chance that he would ever function again. Of course, I went into a complete state of shock, yet I held out hope and quickly got my prayer warriors on it.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my husband is a fighter and has a lot to live for.
My husband spent a total of 61 days in the hospital. At first, I found it difficult to leave the hospital but I eventually took the advice of Felix’s doctors and nurses and tried to spend a little bit more time away to take care of myself.
Upon walking into my room at the Family House for the first time, I instantly felt a sense of calmness.
The color of the room, the light coming in from the windows, freshly made bed and the quiet made for a peaceful getaway.
It was also so nice to have a place to store my things. Toting overnight bags around the hospital each day was getting old very fast. It was refreshing considering that I was going through, by far, the most difficult struggle that my family has ever faced – the reality being that I could soon be a widow and single mom.
Since being home, Felix has improved by leaps and bounds.
I think being in a familiar place has played a huge role in his mental state. He is now a lot more alert, aware of his surroundings and makes every effort to get back to normal things like paying bills and ordering our daughter not to put paper in her mouth or try to go up the stairs. He is currently receiving in home occupational therapy twice a week, physical therapy twice a week, and speech therapy once a week.
The SECU Family House was a tremendous blessing to me!
Knowing that I had a safe, comfortable and affordable place to sleep at night that wasn’t far from the hospital was huge! Not only that, but it provided peace of mind for my husband as he was recovering. Having a friendly face to greet me and listen to me was also a big deal. There were days that it was hard to hold it together and having friendly staff was instrumental in keeping me sane.”
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