John P.’s Story

Site created on October 23, 2020

Welcome to John's CaringBridge website.  On Thurs Oct 22, John was rushed to the local ER after losing control of his right arm and right leg. They determined he had a hemorrhaging (vs the usual clot) stroke.   John was impacted in the motor region of his brain only and is able to communicate unimpaired.  John came home from the Accute Rehab Unit on Nov 24 and on December 22 an angiogram at UCSF identified a AVM (Arteriovenous malformation) as the source of the October bleed-out.  John had a very successful brain surgery on January 20th at UCSF which removed the entire "birth defect".  His setbacks from the stoke and surgery have been very impactful to his life and living conditions, however he is not one to complain or give up.  John's recover focus is to regain as much feeling, control, strength in his leg as possible, while re-building muscles, overall energy, and stamina to pre-stroke levels.  Please follow along here for status and for providing words of support/ encouragement.   We thank you all for your continued support! 

Newest Update

Journal entry by John Tomberlin

It's been 20 months post brain surgery to correct my AVM that caused my hemorrhagic stroke in 2020. I have been officially discharged from physical therapy! Although I have a "hitch in my giddyup" (walking pattern), I am thankful to Alka, my therapist, for pushing me to do things I thought not remotely possible. Those of you who know me well, I will NEVER give up on trying to improve my functional independence. My next goal is to safely negotiate the rickety stairs down to the Pacific Coast beach just 100+ yards from our home and feel the sand under my feet! I am eternally grateful to my partner in love and life, Carolyn Krull Tomberlin for her ongoing love and support through all of my medical adventures! And thanks to all of you, my Caring Bridge friends, for your support. 🙏 😍 

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