It began Wednesday, March 23, 2016 around 3:00 a.m. When the first responders arrived, they immediately knew that Daddy had a stroke. AirEvac was called in and he was airlifted from Neweilton, LA to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. About 10 minutes outside of Jackson, MS his sats began to drop rapidly and the paramedic had to intubate him. On our way to Jackson, the surgeon called. They administered a shot to reverse the stroke but it didn't work. The surgeon called and requested permission to perform surgery. The doctor said that it would be a 50% chance that he would not survive the surgery. Surgeons removed two blood clots from his brain. The blood flow to the entire right side of his brain had been completely closed off.

He survived the surgery but the left side of his body was paralyzed. He was on full ventilator support. His left lung collapsed and he had to have a tracheostomy on April 5, 2016. During this time he could respond to us some. On April 6, 2016 he was transferred to Regency in Jackson, MS. He was diagnosed with Pneumonia as well as four other infections. He became unresponsive. He was diagnosed with sepsis. On four different occasions we were told that he was not expected to make it. On April 23, 2016, we were told that his stroke had extended. On May 10, 2016, we were given the devastating news of he was expected to remain in a vegetative state. We were told that he did know when we came in and out of the room. The prognosis was that he would never be able to walk or ever go home. At best, his diagnosis was that he could possibly be weaned from the ventilator; but he was not expected to ever have the trachea removed. At one point we were encouraged to consider removing him from life support. When the time arrived that he would have to be transferred to another facility, we prayed that God's will would be done regarding where he would be sent. On May 12, 2016, he was transferred to Franklin County Memorial Hospital. We arrived in Meadville heartbroken and full of fear with only our faith in God still intact. He was completely dependent on ventilator support and was unresponsive. It was the most difficult situation our family had ever faced together. It seemed that our dad was lost to us.

We were so accustomed to his larger than life personality, his ability to make everyone laugh and his own unique way of truly loving and making everyone feel special. The void was greater than we can put into words. When we arrived at the hospital, the staff immediately began working with him. We began to see improvement in just a few days. Not only did they take care of our father, they were very attentive to the needs of our mother. This was so important to us. She left home on March 23 rd and did not leave the hospital until he was discharged. Every week we could see improvement. Within just a few weeks he was off of the ventilator, then the trachea was removed. We were watching a miracle happen before our eyes. He's gone from being unresponsive to sitting up, to standing and now walking, talking and eating. We are so thankful that God led us to Franklin County Memorial Hospital. Franklin County Memorial Hospital gave us back our father. It's such a joy to hear his quick witted responses, watch him walk and be able to sit down and share a meal with him. We are forever thankful to each one that played a part in our father's recovery. Thank you Franklin County Memorial Hospital. Children and Wife of David Goodwin

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