my mom, put her in the car, and
drove her to St. Louise Hospital,” Kassi
recounted, tears springing to her eyes.
Doctors put Konni in a six-day
medical coma. Her three sisters flew
in, and Kassi, her brother Kyle, and
her father John swooped in to be with
Konni the entire time.
“She didn’t stay one night by herself,”
Kassi said with a big smile.
Konni nodded. “My whole family are
such good caregivers.”
Tearfully, Kassi added, “We learned
it from her. She brought us up to be
like that.”
Konni gave credit to her husband as
well. “Sometimes men aren’t made that
way, but my husband is. He’s a crazy
good husband.”
She credits John with taking care of
all the healthcare issues and making
modifications to their home to
accommodate her, all while holding
down his full-time job with Apple.
The event was “terrifying” for the
family, at first, Kassi said. “We didn’t
know what it was going to be like when
she woke up.”
Konni woke to find she had lost most
of the strength in her neck and head, as
well as her left side. She had to re-learn
how to swallow and sit upright, and
then eventually to walk. Given all that,
she has been able to recover remarkably
quickly. “All my therapists have told me
it’s a good thing I was in really good
shape, from doing CrossFit all these
years. It helped me to recover a lot
faster than a lot of stroke patients
normally would.”
The location of the stroke also
fortunately missed her speech and
memory centers, so her recovery efforts
have been largely physical.
Though, of course, there have been
emotional implications of the event.
Sorrow at having to put travel plans
on hold, and fear that she would not
be strong enough for important family
events weighed her down at times.
However, the goal-oriented Konni,
as Kassi described her, focused on her
recovery with one focal point in mind.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
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