In May, 2004, Tim received the news that his 42-year-old wife Sara had suffered an acute stroke. With three children still at home and the oldest child heading off to Iraq to serve in his first tour of duty, Tim's family and church rallied to support the family.
After 10 days in ICU, Tim was told his wife would never walk, talk, or interact with people again. This was devastating news, but Tim did not give up hope.
After 3 months in-patient at Baylor Rehabilitation, the recommendation was that his wife needed to be moved to a nursing home because she would need 24x7 care the rest of her life. Tim refused because he was still seeing improvements.
Relying on his faith and continued support from his church and family, he fought the insurance companies to get Sara into the Centre for Neuro Skills (CNS). CNS treats Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). A stroke is a form of a TBI. Despite getting his wife into CNS, insurance carriers across state lines attempted to move Sara out of CNS.
Tim chronicles his wife's amazing recovery and his battles to insure that his wife continued at CNS. After 3 months at CNS in-patient, Sara went home and walked up the stairs without help. After another year in out-patient rehabilitation, Sara recovered to the point where she now drives, takes care of her children, and has returned to work at Eastfield Junior College in Mesquite, TX.
"Too many people are written off and end up in nursing homes requiring expensive assisted living at the taxpayer's expense," Tim explained. "750,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year with a permanent impairment. Sara is an example of where investment in rehabilitation prevented excessive long-term costs to the taxpayers for assisted living." Further, he indicated "I am a fiscal conservative, but I believe in health care reform and that the right dialogue can result in savings to society."
Sara's Story is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other fine bookstores (ISBN 13: 9781934749608, CrossHouse Publishing).
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