Our beloved friend and brother in Korea, Phillip, woke up one morning at 3 am feeling something was off, and his right side was feeling weak. He was in the midst of a massive stroke. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was admitted and found to have a cerebral infarction. The doctors were very concerned as this usually leads to permanent paralysis and speech loss, but with the right medical care and hard work over the past six months, thankfully, he has been able to recover 60-70% use of the right side of his body, as well as his speech, but, he was let go from his long-time job as an English teacher as a result of his long medical absence. Phillip has been looking very hard for employment, but due to his condition and ageism in Korea, he has been struggling to find work and needs immediate help to pay his medical bills as well as feed his family. Phillip has some words he would like to share: "I woke up at 3 am and felt something was off. My right arm and leg felt a little weak. Oh no “stroke” I thought so I looked in the mirror. My face wasn’t droopy so I went back to sleep. In the morning I said “good morning” to my boys. I noticed I was lisping and had to force out my words. I went to Saint Mary’s ECU right away. I was admitted when a CT scan showed I was having a cerebral infarction. The next five days I kept getting worse and worse. My right side was paralyzed. This affected my mouth and I was ashamed to speak. My doctor admitted she had been very concerned because the type of stroke I had fully paralyzes the body and one is unable to speak. I felt so useless. I didn’t want to live and contemplated suicide but for my two boys. I grew up with no parents. I couldn’t do that to them so I had to get better to heal. I have been physically strong all my life and being unable to use half my body humbled me and took away a major part of my confidence. In desperation, I reached out to my pastor from my youth and asked him to pray for me. With his help, I prayed to God. Reconnecting with Him and having my faith strengthened is why I have gotten better. Relearning how to walk and using your fingers was the hardest. It has been a slow journey but day by day I experience improvement. I’ll never take it for granted ever again. It’s been six months now and I’m walking without a cane. I feel I have recovered 65% maybe 70% on good days. I feel I’m ready to go back to work. I need to go to work. It’s been six months without getting a paycheck. With hospital bills and therapy, I also need to pay utilities, feed and clothe my family. The problem is I was let go from my job because of my long absence from work. I’ve applied for other teaching positions but due to my age I haven’t received any inquiries or replies to my resume. I’m 49 years old and prospective employers aren’t willing to hire older than 40 at English Academies here in Korea. I grew up poor but have never asked for a handout. From a young age if I wanted something I was told by my maternal grandmother I had to work hard for it. She said if someone helps you out they’ll say he got there because he got help and didn’t work hard. It was given to him. Because of this kind of upbringing, it was very difficult to ask Ann and Steve my brother and sister in Christ for help. As a man and dad I’m still embarrassed and ashamed I can’t take care of my family. This situation is humiliating but I am humbly asking for help. I figure I can do light construction work but when I inform companies I have had a stroke in the past six months I get passed up. If I were by myself I’d just remain quiet and starve before asking for help. If you could help in any way possible I would appreciate it tremendously." Any amount you can support with would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!
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