Keep my Alex in your prayers please

[Beth Denysenko]

It is with a very heavy heart I am posting this.

My beloved Alex suffered a severe stroke Friday night. We were at dinner with a good friend of ours when it occurred. Knowing his family history, I had long ago educated myself on the symptoms of stroke and knew almost instantly what was happening. The owners of the restaurant we were at were also friends of ours and knew something was wrong immediately and came to our aid. They called an ambulance, and knew that some of their customers were medically trained and brought them over to keep things calm until the ambulance arrived. We got Alex to the hospital in time to get the time-sensitive medication to bust the clot and give him the best chance of getting back to normal.

Alex was in ICU until yesterday afternoon, we have been moved to a regular room now, and we expect he will be in the hospital until at least Tuesday or Wednesday. He has some pretty severe blockage in his neck and we won’t know until today or tomorrow if it’s too severe to be treated. The holiday is messing up some of the timing of information and planning of next steps. He might have surgery, he might not. Regardless, he is in for at least a few weeks of rehab in-patient (though Alex currently planning on going to open his shop tomorrow morning, please don’t tell him he’s not going to be able to). The hospital is one block from our house, so I have been able to walk back and forth, take short little breaks to take care of our pets, grab a bite to eat, etc.

We are going to need continued prayers and good thoughts for a little while as it’s going to take a lot of hard work, strength and discipline to get him back into tip top shape, but I believe if anyone will do it, it’s him. He has proven his unbelievable stubbornness over and over from the start of it all this weekend and never before have I been so thrilled to see it – usually it’s quite the opposite response from me – LOL But I think we finally found a good and appropriate outlet for it. And he has some great incentives to get better. That race car of his is going to drive him to success as much as he has driven it into the winner’s circle.

Tony, his son, is available to help run the shop in his absence and Alex is communicating very well to help direct him, no issues at all with memory or thought processes. So though it won’t be business as usual, we should be able to keep Moneymaker Racing open for business.

The moral of this story however is to live each day with your loved ones as though you might never see them again. We have always lived this way and so glad we have. Even though we have never taken each other for granted, this was still quite a wakeup call.

If you have the inclination to send a card, the funnier the better, I would really appreciate it.
Alex Denysenko
1707 Washington St.
Michigan City, IN 46360

Thank you to all our racing family, Beth

[Jack Matyas]

Beth - Well keep both you and Alex in our thoughts ..........I can fully understand him wanting to open his shop .....I done the same thing - snuck out of the house and it just feels good being at the shop .Good luck with keeping him " locked up " ...........And you're right - that race car will provide plenty of incentive .

[Bobby Fazio]

Get well Alex, hoping everything goes smoothly and you are back on you feet in no time.

[Robert Swartz]

Beth, very sorry to hear about this. Have talked with Alex a number of times. He has been very helpful to me. I lost my father to a severe stroke in 2005, he was in his late 80's. My brother has suffered two severe strokes. Encourage him to do what rehab tells him to do. I do know what you're dealing with.

[stage1scott]

So sorry to hear this-and thank god you and others nearby knew what to do! Here is wishing for a speedy recovery and safe, successful surgery, our prayers are with you!

[DBi Racing]

Beth:

We wish Alex a full and speedy recovery, and we wish you the best of luck keeping him on "lockdown."

Bill & Don Lent
DBi Racing

[Joe DeMarzo]

Though Alex and i did not speak often, when we did it was usually for a while and we talked about life and family. So sorry to hear this. I will send him a card.

My thoughts and prayers are with Alex and his family.

[joe176]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and Alex for a speedy recovery !!!!!!

[Nitro Joe Jackson]

sorry to hear about this Beth, we are keeping Alex in our thoughts, check your FB messages, i left one in it.

[Monte Howard]

Sorry to hear this, good luck Beth and stay strong for Alex.