After suffering a stroke in January, resident Kathy Doss said she is regaining movement on the right side of her body, thanks to doctors, family and friends.
“I was in my house and woke up on the floor of my bedroom,” Doss said. Something similar had happened to her a few weeks before, and she went to the hospital immediately afterward. But doctors misidentified the incident and sent her home, she said.
Weeks later, she suffered a stroke and aneurysm, spending more than 13 days in the hospital. She said she’s been at home in outpatient rehabilitation in the time since.
“I had no right side for a long time, but it’s coming back,” Doss said. “My whole right side was completely dead. The goal is to have everything back to normal.”
On Feb. 23, she said Karen Dylewski, along with her staff at the Howard Mohr Community Center, organized a fundraiser for her at Doc Ryan’s Bar and Grill, where an estimated 300 attendees — including mayoral hopefuls Chris Harris and Rory Hoskins — raised more than $20,000. In the heat of election season, “all the candidates were in the same room; they were able to come together,” Doss said. Her brother, John, is president of the Park District of Forest Park board and head of the village’s public works department.
She said she is thankful for the donations, which will go toward paying her hospital bills and current living expenses.
“When Forest Park comes together, they really are amazing. They did some amazing work. I’m just very proud to be a Forest Parker,” she said.
CONTACT: ntepper@wjinc.com
