Sam Lichenstein

We want to start out by saying thank you for all the love, support, positive thoughts, and prayers from everyone thus far. We understand Sam has a lot of friends who would love to be updated on his progress so we will be using this site to do so.  The journals will be updated by Sam's daughters (Cheyenne & Courtnie).


Sam and Jetahn were in Phoenix, Arizona to participate in the Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon (in hopes to raise money for the West Texas Boys Ranch). On January 19th, Sam was roughly half a mile from the finish line when he had a heart attack and collapsed. When he collapsed he hit his head really hard on the pavement. Sam had a retired paramedic and an ER Nurse running next to him. They both immediately stopped and began CPR bringing him back to life.  My mom was approaching when she noticed multiple runners kneeling down. She  knew right away it was the love of her life. They were transported to  HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn  Medical Center . They did surgery to put a stent in on his left side to alleviate blockage. Once he got out of surgery the Neurologist arrived to inform Jetahn that Sam had a brain bleed and that they could not perform the 2nd heart surgery until the his brain was completely healed.  My sister and I flew to Arizona as soon as we heard the news. The doctors ordered cat scans every 2-3 hours to check on his brain. 

January 20th - Sam has 2 small blood clots in the back of his brain (not a huge concern and should dissolve quickly). There is a third blood clot in the front of his brain that is large and the main concern. This blood clot is what is causing his short term memory loss and issues with cognitive thinking.  We are still doing cat scans every couple of hours to check on the size to make sure the clot does not get any bigger. If the clot gets bigger in size then Sam will have to have surgery to remove the clot from his brain. Good news is he knows now that he is in the hospital and knows my mom, Courtnie, and I are all with him. His since of  humor is also coming back. He called the nurse "a son of a biscuit eater" when she pricked his finger. He has been throwing up so he was given nasseau medicine.  This caused him to be even more loopy so hopefully he will not have to take that anymore. 
Good news: Sam had a visitor named Jesse the Service Dog which really boosted his spirits! It may have been the best thing that has happened thus far for Sam. 

January 21st - Sam had a really good night, he was able to get some solid sleep from the pain medications. His head is hurting him really bad but so is his chest because he has a cracked rib from the CPR. Cat Scans are still stable which means that the blood clot has not decreased in size but it also has not got any larger (this is great news!!). There also has not been any more bleeding in the brain which is amazing!! Today, he got back on heart medicine since the hematoma (blood clot) is stable. He was able to walk a little bit but his balance is really off. He is still having trouble remembering what exactly he does for a living but his answers are getting closer each time. This little progress is great for him and for us. He is still in a lot of pain and the blood clot has not decreased in size at all (which is okay and we are patient). 
Today, we had friends John and Jill Harrison come and visit us in Arizona. They were a huge blessing to our family and we are very grateful they flew out to help. John and Jill were able to boost Sams spirits and also ours. We can not say thank you enough for John and Jills help.  Courtnie had to head back to take care of her newborn J.W. but is organizing our hotel stays, doctor visits, updating friends, and helping our parents with everything else she can. 

January 22nd - Now I am able to step away and begin writing to you all. Last night Jetahn was able to go to the hotel and get 5 hours of sleep which was great for her since she had not slept since the incident. I (Cheyenne) stayed with Sam at the hospital overnight. He slept great although he was in a lot of pain. He had an amazing Nurse named Christopher who took the best care of him. This morning Sam was able to shower with assistance and Jetahn shaved his face. He is remembering more and more (YAY!!). He is still struggling a lot with short term memory and motor skills but we are still hopeful. Everyones thoughts, prayers, and love is really helping because we have been told it is a miracle he is not on life support. We are truly blessed to be where we are at today. The blood clot has not decreased at all (still hopeful) but the doctors did start giving Sam sodium tablets. The sodium will help prevent additional swelling and fluid build up in the brain. What can happen is that when the clot gets smaller there can be an increase in swelling which would not be good at all. If this happens Sam would have to have brain surgery so we are not out of the woods yet. Cat scans are still being ran every 6-8 hours to check on his progress. 
Good news: We bought him a teddy bear and a word search which made him smile a little more. He was able to call a good friend Charles Davidson which really helped Sam remember. Sam was really happy after this phone call and decided to get out of bed and sit near the window to eat dinner. Him and Jetahn listened to Country Music and did a word search. My heart is full of joy this evening to see this progress. 


Cheyenne is with Jetahn and Sam in Arizona and will be staying there to help our Mom.
We will continue to wait for the clot to decrease and pray for the best. 

***At this point it is looking like Sam will be in ICU till at least the 25th and then will be in a regular hospital room - Doctors are expecting him to be in the hospital between 2-4 more weeks but it could be 3 months before the blood clot decreases in size. ***

Thank you all for reading and sending us all of your loving thoughts and prayers. Our Family needs it more than ever right now and it is working thus far. We will continue to keep you all posted by using this website and adding to the journal.


We have a long road ahead of us and with that will come a long list of hospital bills and expenses while we are here in Scottsdale and continuing on when we get back home.  We have had a lot of request to help out financially so we created a GoFundMe Page to if you wish to  help and donate during this very hard time that has impacted our family personally and financially.  While we don't know what the financial burden will be from the hospital bills and expenses while staying her Scottsdale, we want everyone to know if there is one penny over what the Bills and Expenses are we will be donating that to the West Texas Boys Ranch.  You can click on the "ways to help" at the top then the "Visit GoFundMe Site".  Thank you so much and God Bless!