Alisha McPartland

Late evening on Friday, November 17, 2017, Alisha's mom and daughters took her to the emergency room with what they all thought was a severe case of the flu, only to discover that Alisha had, in fact, suffered a massive stroke.  Alisha appears to be suffering from a rare condition known as Wallenberg Syndrome, a condition in which a stroke occurs in the lateral medulla or back of the brain. The symptoms of the condition are difficult to recognize and the cause is not clear. Alisha's stroke damaged a large portion of her cerebellum, the part of the brain at the back of the skull. Its function is to coordinate and regulate muscular activity. 
Alisha was conscious, breathing on her own, and responding to commands and stimuli in all of her arms and legs throughout the day on Saturday. Late Saturday evening, the brain swelling and pressure in her skull increased and made it difficult for her to control her own breathing. Surgery was performed to open her skull and relieve some of the pressure, remove some of the damaged tissue to make room for swelling, and insert a drain.  Alisha is now being sedated to regulate her blood pressure and breathing and try to control her pain, reduce the brain swelling, and stabilize her condition. She continues to move all of her arms and legs, toes and eyebrows and shows expression. She gets mad and has a serious scowl going when they suction her mouth and we're all happy to see signs of an ornery Alisha.  
Alisha is currently in ICU at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Her parents or close family members and friends are with her at all times. We're hoping for a couple of days of nothing to report but resting comfortably. However, we will keep this site up to date with any changes. We will also monitor the messages on this site and and answer any questions you may have here as well to try to keep the exchange of information in this centralized location. While we appreciate every single thought and prayer, we've found it really hard to keep up with who we've told what, or who we've responded to and who we haven't and with so many messages coming in through call, text, and various social media, it's hard for Deb and Jerry and the family supporting them to get any rest themselves. If everyone can please share this link everywhere and try to funnel the contact to Alisha's loved ones through here, rather than all the many other methods, that will help us to be able to see all of your messages, get back to you with answers to your questions, and also be able to "turn it off" and get some rest ourselves at times. 
Everyone wants to help and we can't begin to express our thanks and appreciation, but right now, the most important thing each of you can do for Alisha is pray. Pray unceasingly for Alisha's comfort, strength and healing. Thank you so much.