"One awful day, I got a call no mother wants. My 37-year-old son’s girlfriend was on the line: Thomas had suffered a stroke.
They removed part of his skull to relieve swelling. Finally, the severe bleeding in his brain stopped.
Thomas was in the hospital for six weeks. Part of his tongue and the left side of his body were paralyzed. Almost worse, he couldn’t swallow. To see your firstborn child, a grown man, so helpless and confused was painful.
After some recovery at home, Thomas returned to Memorial Hermann to have his skull repaired. From there, he was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann. His progress there made a huge difference.
The TIRR team pushed him. He got physical, speech, occupational and group therapy—first as an inpatient and then as part of their outpatient Challenge program.
Now, following instructions for continuing work at home, Thomas is walking his way back to a full life."