父亲49岁时中风，激励女儿们帮助病人

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一个星期天的早晨，在教堂, Alej和ra Rosales Murillo 和 her four sisters were sitting with their parents when one of the girls noticed their father's face was drooping.

她悄悄地把这个消息告诉了他们的妈妈玛丽亚·罗萨莱斯·穆里略. She leaned toward her husb和, Jose Rosales Campos, 和 asked if something was wrong.

“可能又是贝尔氏麻痹症，”他说. A year earlier, he'd had a short bout with the condition, which can cause temporary facial weakness.

因为这个消息是悄悄告诉每个家庭成员的, 这场骚乱引起了一位客座牧师的注意. 他停下布道，问是否一切都好. 何塞点了点头. The preacher then led the congregation in a prayer for Jose 和 cut the service short.

The preacher urged the family to take Jose to the hospital, but he refused. 他坚持要他们继续当天的计划, which included a meal to celebrate the 19th birthday of one of their daughters.

这家人住在加州的卡莱西科. Although the restaurant was a short drive away, it was across the border in Mexicali, Mexico.

当他们到达墨西卡利时，何塞的讲话变得含糊不清. 他没有反应. 玛丽亚开车去了当地的医院. The hospital turned them away because Jose's medical insurance only covered him in the United States.

玛丽亚开车回了加州. 这通常是一次快速的旅行，但在这一天——12月8日. 2012年9月23日——过境点挤满了度假游客.

最后, 大约在教堂礼拜后四小时, 这家人被送到布劳利附近的一家医院, 加州.

医生确定当时49岁的何塞有两次中风. 他的右侧瘫痪了，说不出话来.

化名为Ale的Alej和ra留在医院帮忙. 当时是一名高三学生, she knew she was needed to serve as everything from a translator for her non-English-speaking parents to simply helping them navigate this new journey. 在那里，她也学到了更多关于中风的知识. 她意识到父亲的处境非常危险.

他肥胖，喝很多啤酒，喜欢披萨和猪排. 他服用治疗糖尿病和高血压的药物.

"My dad would go to the doctor once a year 和 was always told he needed to take better care of himself, 但他从来没有,艾尔说。. “我们都试着和他说话，但他会说，‘我很好，别担心. 我在外面工作.'"

在医院住了一个星期后，何塞坐着轮椅回家了. 他逐渐学会了使用手杖, although post-stroke seizures sometimes required him to again use the wheelchair.

Jose had worked at a retail store in the United States 和 as a mortician in Mexico. 现在他不能了. 他领取了一些失业和伤残保险, 以及医疗补助, 但这家人很挣扎. 玛丽亚一边工作一边照顾何塞.

雷曾考虑过从高中辍学去挣钱. 她的父母坚持要她毕业. 她照做了，然后去上班了. 她在帝王谷的田地里找了份工作. 她不得不在凌晨3点起床.m. 来上班收割蔬菜.

While this helped ease the family's financial burden, Ale wasn't satisfied. 她想要一份事业.

受到那些帮助过她父亲的人的启发，她想帮助病人.

By taking out student loans, Ale was able to get a degree as a medical/clinical assistant.

2017 - 2021年, she worked as an intake clerk at the same hospital in Brawley that treated her father. 去年，她开始了一份案件经理的工作, where she helps health care professionals 和 patients gain access to medication by working with their insurance company to secure coverage.

她可以远程工作，所以她从父母家里登录. 这让她每天都有线上电子游戏飞禽走兽和父亲在一起.

“他就像我的同事，”她说. "During my break, I'll see him watching the news 和 I'll make him something to eat."

Jose mostly gets around with a cane, though he also often uses a wheelchair or scooter. He speaks a few words 和 otherwise gestures with his left h和 to communicate. While his right leg has some movement, his right arm remains paralyzed.

One of Ale's younger sisters, 阿德里亚娜罗萨莱斯, also was inspired to help patients. 她在亚利桑那州坦佩市的一家医院做护士. 她12岁，父亲中风时，她和他非常亲近.

“我们从教会和家人那里得到了很好的支持, but I wasn't aware of how tough it would be financially 和 emotionally,阿德里亚娜说.

The sisters can't help but wonder how things might have been different if their family had known more about the risks of stroke.

They also realize they were likely compromised by Hispanic cultural traditions. 他们通常吃的许多食物都不是健康饮食的一部分. Further adding to the challenge is that health is considered a taboo topic of discussion, Ale said. 尽管西班牙裔人的发病率相对较高 高血压, 肥胖 和 2型糖尿病.

"Our goal as a family is to spread awareness on stroke, especially in our community,艾尔说。. "We want them to know how much it can affect not just the person who had the stroke, 但是他们周围的每个人."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease 和 stroke survivors, caregivers 和 advocates.

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