Chuck’s Story

Site created on May 27, 2019

Welcome to the CaringBridge site for Chuck Macke. Going forward, we will use this site to keep family and friends updated. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. 

A little back story:

In the very early hours on Wednesday, May 22nd, Chuck awoke in the night feeling tightness in his throat and pain in his legs. He was seen in Grantsburg and released with pain meds. Later that evening, pain wasn't subsiding, so Julie brought him to the ER in  St. Croix Falls. 

A CT Scan on Friday morning showed activity of a stroke, which was later diagnosed as a bilateral pons stroke (in short, a brain stem stroke, which is why symptoms didn't present the same as a more common stroke). Chuck was brought via ambulance to Abbot Northwestern for care. He spent two days in the ICU, and was moved on Sunday afternoon to a progressive care unit at Abbott. 

Right now, we don't have a lot of information. He is stable, alert, aware of his surroundings and interacting with his care team and family. He's still got his wit, and continues to make jokes. We appreciate your prayers and support to our family during this difficult time. We anticipate this can be a place for Julie to share her perspective and provide her a place to share information with all of you in one place. We would very much appreciate it if you could leave your prayers, comments and well-wishes for Chuck.

Newest Update

June 29 update

Journal entry by Julie Macke —

Things are still continuing in the same direction, which we are so thankful for! Chuck's ability to walk keeps improving, and it's exciting to see that he can walk nearly normally without a cane at times. He feels he's ready to give driving a try, so maybe this week??? At least on our back roads.

Swallowing thin liquids continues to be somewhat challenging. He handles most foods well but wishes denser foods like steak 😀 would be easier to eat.

At times he still has pain and weakness in the legs, but it has lessened from a rating of 9-10 to a rating of 4-5. Continue to pray for that.

We still enjoy reading comments from friends near and far and we do appreciate your prayers so much!
Read More of the journal titled "June 29 update"
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