Just wanted to post a note about one of our PKF family Cheddarhead aka Robert Bocik from Wisconsin. Here is a note Rob's wife Vicky posted a few days ago - I know we are all rooting for Rob to recover from this:

Dear family and friends, I'm sorry that we did not let you know what was going on earlier with Rob but we decided to wait until we made it through this critical phase to share this with all of you.

On Wednesday January 22nd Rob was doing what he loves, kite skiing on Shawano Lake. While there he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by a ruptured blood vessel in his brain. He had stopped his kite and thank God two fishermen stopped to check on him after noticing that he hadn't gone anywhere in a while.

Rob was transferred to St. Vincent's where he underwent emergency brain surgery. Two drain tubes were inserted to relieve pressure and remove blood from his brain cavity. We were also told that he had no movement of his right arm or leg and had not spoken since he was found. The next day we were told that he has an abnormality in his blood vessels that he has probably always had that caused this. He will have to have surgery in the near future to try to correct the problem so this doesn't happen again. We were also told that it could have happened at any time without warning and there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.

After 5 days they were able to lower sedation and remove him from the ventilator. Exactly two weeks later and many baby steps the drain tubes have been removed and he is no longer considered critical. He still has no mobility of the arm or leg or speech but has therapy every day and has been working really hard. Rob is very alert when you talk to him giving us lots of smiles and laughs.

He has a long road ahead of him but he is a strong young guy and with all of our help and prayers he is improving every day. I will post updates here as we progress since Rob is loved by so many people I just can't respond to everyone individually so this will be easier and give me more time to concentrate on helping Rob get through this.

Thanks, Vicky

Very sorry to hear about the injury. I'll put this kiter on my nightly prayer list.

Wow... very sad news. Will definitely pray for him and his family...

This is so incredibly sad to hear about. My most sincere best wishes to Rob and his entire family. While I've never had the privilege of meeting him in person we have interacted repeatedly over the years and bought equipment from each other and had some nice laughs.

I'm very sorry to hear about that. Though I've only known Robert through his forum presence, long time members seem like distant relatives and family. He and his family will be in my prayers and I look forward to his return to health and this community.

So sorry to here this.

As you said, Robert is young and that is on His side. Big Hope's for a speedy recovery.

Thanks Mark for sharing.

This is part of the message Robert's wife Vicky posted on his Facebook page - there is a link to sign up to sort of journal where she will update info on his recovery path:

For information & updates on Rob I have started a caringbridge site to make it easier to keep you informed on his progress & what's going onhttps://www.caringbridge.org/visit/robbocik

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I'll try sending Vicky a message to let her know I have copied the info she posted on Rob here on PKF - I hope she'll be able to show Rob the messages of support at some point

Prayers for you both Rob and Vicky
Hoping for a speedy recovery

Sorry to hear about this. Hoping for a quick and full recovery. BTW - the caringbridge page is a nice way to keep up on a person's progress.

Very sad to hear this news.

Prayers for a full recovery and for strength are on the way.

Get better Rob

Sorry to hear of this Rob. I guess it could happen to anyone of us. Best wishes to you and we're all hoping for the best, a full speedy recovery.
Let's get you back out there.

I wish for a speedy recovery for you and your family. You are part of our clan and we want you back and whole again. "Keep yer stick on the ice"

The latest update Vicky posted:

Had a very demanding first day but made great progress..moved his arm, sat up on his own, stood up, walked the length of a 50ft hall with help, chased me around the room in a wheelchair & after all that decided he wanted to pull himself up & sit up in bed !

Very sorry to hear. But happy to hear recovery is moving along!

Take care my brother
You and your family are in my prayers
So glad to hear your good progress!

I'm glad to hear that such good progress is being made. It's scary when stuff happens that you can't control. Kite on Robert!

latest update from Vicky's journal:

Rob is definitely not the singer in our family, but hearing him sing Happy Birthday was certainly music to my ears after not hearing him speak in over 3 weeks !!! He also counted to 10 & said "my name is Rob" . It wasn't perfect but he did remarkably well for his first day talking again. He also did great in o.t. putting his socks & shoes on both feet & getting his tshirt on with a little help getting his right hand in. Physical therapy showed more muscle movement in his right leg & he's been working really hard trying to get his right leg to walk again. Overall it was a GREAT day.

Awesome news!

Vicky has continued regular updates on the caring bridge link, I haven't copied everything but here is the latest from today:

February 18, 2020
Journal entry by Vicky Bocik

Rob had a couple of firsts today that we all take for granted but made his day... first real shower in a month and got to sit in a recliner instead of a wheel chair or being in bed. Therapy sessions continue to go good. He was able to put enough pressure on his right leg & bend it while walking that he held onto parallel bars & was able to walk with minimal assistance. They also switched from using a Walker on his left side to a cane & that went pretty well. Speech therapy also went pretty good working on object recognition & we know he is able to read because he tried saying words that were written down. We had a meeting with his dr. & therapists and they are all very happy with the progress he's made in such a short time.

Thanks for the update. Improving day by day by the sounds of it. Hoping for nothing short of a full recovery, asap.

Glad to hear of the progress he is making. Scary and sad to see how quickly one's life can be turned totally upside down. Makes me think that I take so much for granted when time is fleeting.

Glad to hear he is making progress. Such a friendly and amazing guy, sorry to hear it happened!

I haven't copied Vicky's updates in a while so here is the latest on Rob:

March 2, 2020
Journal entry by Vicky Bocik

Rob has still been making great progress. They have not given us a release date yet but we have a meeting with his Dr. and therapists tomorrow and they send in another report to the insurance company and they decide from that when we go. His therapists would love to have him here as long as possible, even though his mobility has improved dramaticly, his arm and speech especially have a long way to go. Since we know he'll probably be home sooner than expected they are pushing pretty hard to prepare us. Walking up & down a flight of stairs, not using the wheel chair while here unless going long distance, extra leg & arm exercises to do outside of the 4 hours therapy he's already doing. Speech is working on a book for him to take with us with pages of foods he likes, places we go, feelings etc. that he can point to if I can't understand what he wants to try to ease frustration. The therapists & staff here have truly been amazing!

Latest update, Rob is home! I hope he'll be able to visit PKF too.

March 10, 2020
Journal entry by Vicky Bocik

Sorry I haven't done an update in a while but, after 49 days at St. Vincents hospital Rob is finally home !!!!
He has made so much progress in the past month it truly has been a miracle considering where he started. He went from 2 weeks in critical care and no movement at all on his right side and no vocals at all to being able to walk, move his right arm & fingers and trying to talk. The vocals are going to be his biggest hurdle but he is making progress but it's just very frustrating not being able to understand what he is trying to say. He is able to read and we are working on him trying to write words or letters left handed to try to help figure out what he wants or is trying to say. He will be starting out patient therapies on Friday with new therapists so we will be starting the next chapter in his recovery process. We cannot thank the staff at St. Vincent's enough for everything they did for us, leaving today was a very emotional day for all of us.
Thank you all again for your love, prayers & support, it means more to us than you will ever know !

Damn the torpedoes full steam ahead

I know Rob is seeing messages sent to him and he has been skimming f.b. and is aware of this thread. He may not be up to sending us a message but I'm sure he seeing that we are all rooting for him