Stories from Caregivers: Karen from MISSISSIPPI
MS
Karen
FROM MISSISSIPPI
My husband Byron have been married 33 years. I was a security officer #2 in the company. Byron was a police officer/Crime Scene officer. We were on top of the world, we have 2 children a daughter, and a son. In August 2006 a week before our son's 16th birthday I lost my hearing over night. It was very hard on us all. I did know how to read lips so that help us. Byron and our daughter found a devise that may help me hear again and made an appointment for me to be checked out. We went to Shands in Gainsville, FL. As it turned out I was a perfect match. In March of 2007 I had the surgery for a Cochlear devise. In April it was turned on and I was able to start learning to hear again. 7 months later on October 22,2007 our lives changed again forever! Byron had a massive Hemorrhagic stroke. He was in a coma and only given 10 % chance of living through the night. But he did pull through, and started to trying to communicate with us and his doctors. Then the worst thing happened.. He has a second one and this time he was given 1% chance of living through the minute. I never left the hospital, and the nurses who were taking care of him put me in a room down the hall from SCIU. Because I had to remove the devise at night to be able to rest. The head nurse was the only one with the key. She would come get me if anything happened during the night. Our daughter was to be married in February of 2008. They came to me and said they were going to postpone the wedding. I refused to allow them to do so, and told her her daddy had set up everything and wanted it to be special for them. I told them that if anything could make him get better that would be it. We talked about it everyday while in his room, and he did start coming around more. On January 31st we checked him out of the hospital to fly to Disney for the wedding. Byron remembers nothing from October 22nd until February 1st 2008. He can in detail tell you of the wedding. In May 2008 he was at our son's graduation. It has been 9 years.. Byron can't stand and can't feed himself, but I don't care, he is the love of my life. In 2011 our daughter gave birth to our granddaughter, on Byron's birthday October 30th. That is the day of his 2nd stroke. God has blessed us so much, I take care of Byron all by myself and wouldn't have it an other way. In good times and bad times in health and sickness. We take each day as if it were the 1st and are thankful for all God has done for us.
