This past February, at the early age of 56, Dana had a stroke that was so severe that we thought at one point we were going to lose him. As a result of the stroke, Dana was paralyzed on his left side and spent five weeks in the ICU at Lankenau Hospital trying to recover. While there, he also struggled for three weeks of having his breathing supported with a ventilator. The stroke also affected Dana’s lung/throat area and his nursing team had to frequently suction the area to keep it clear.

Dana was never able to get any movement back in his arm or leg while at Lankenau, but on one positive note, a few days after he was removed from the ventilator his first words to Karen, his wife of 28 years were “I Love You.” Karen began to think about a local rehab center that she had heard good things about — Bryn Mawr Rehab (BMR). With the families’ help, Dana was evaluated by the rehab center and transferred to BMR when his evaluations indicated he was a good candidate. Our prayers were answered.

With intense PT, OT and speech therapy every day for eight weeks, Dana is now able to walk a hundred feet and lift his arm and has finger movement. But the brain takes a very long time to come around, so Dana will need a lot of therapy. Even with insurance, Dana will have many uninsured expenses such as: co-pays and deductibles, extensive therapy, therapies, skilled nursing care that will help him during the day while his wife works in order to pay the bills and keep their health insurance. Additionally, because the two-story family home has no first-floor bathroom, they will have to bear the expense of having one built. In the meantime, Dana is in a wheelchair and living temporarily in a generous friend’s condo. This gives Dana an opportunity to get around to try to become more independent.