Beginnings are scary; endings are usually sad. Fortunately, it is the middle that counts the most. I learned on August 4th of 2013 to give hope a chance for an ending to a terrifying experience. At age 37, my older son, Brad, suffered a catastrophic stroke.
Brad was as fit as a man could possibly be, preparing for a training run in anticipation of the New York City Marathon. While he waited for his wife to return from the gym so he could start his run, he began to experience unfamiliar and overwhelming symptoms. Knowing something was wrong, he called his wife, Jessica, and told her to come immediately. Jessica returned home to find Brad on the kitchen floor. An ambulance whisked Brad to the local hospital as he lost consciousness. Nobody knew what to expect when Brad was wheeled into the hospital and switched from the stretcher onto a gurney. There lay what was obviously once a strong and vital man with lean musculature and a tanned body derived from the time spent outside running, close to death.
That day, a journey began for Brad and his friends and family. Learning of the cause, a ruptured AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, in Brad's brain that he had likely been born with. Putting faith in brilliant and kind medical providers, like a young neurosurgeon, Avinash Mohan, who saved Brad's life that day, various therapists at in-patient and outpatient rehabilitation centers who helped Brad recover, and Dr. Howard Riina and his team at NYU, who would later obliterate the AVM for good. Summoning patience, strength, and advocacy to push Brad to as full of a recovery as possible, back to independence, work, and enjoyment of his life.
As of the end of 2020, Brad is fit and the embodiment of what he used to be. He continues to have a weak left arm and a slight limp, but he is back at work full time and enjoying his life with friends and family, especially his two young sons.
The brain is our internal force that affects decision making. Brad made a decision throughout his treatment and healing process to return to health and succeed with everything he had begun to do before fate struck. The beginning was scary, the middle, uncertain, and we feared a sad ending. But the lessons learned were valuable, and life changing, and will carry into the future for Brad and our family toward all of the possibilities we are open to enjoy as a family.
Author Biography:
I am a first time author who felt compelled to write this book to share my experience of facing a parent's worst nightmare. My eldest son, in a matter of seconds, went from a healthy young man to a helpless shell of a human being. How my family and I managed to help overcome a virtual death sentence to a healthy fully functional man will inspire the reader or those of you facing insurmountable problems of the same kind. My hope is to show you a path to move forward and thrive again.
