Sinbad Still Learning How To Walk After Stroke In 2020
Sinbad had an ischemic stroke when a blood clot from his heart traveled to his brain.
Two years after comedian Sinbad suffered a debilitating stroke, his family published an Instagram photo Monday revealing the 66-year-old is still re-learning how to walk.
“Sinbad appreciates all the love and support,” Monday’s heartening post said.
“Many of you have asked for updates and if there is anything Sinbad needs or what you can do to help,” it continued. “As a result, the family has created a site where you can keep up to date with his progress and also provide an avenue for those who wish to give.”
“‘Stay funky, stay blessed,’” the post concluded.
Sinbad, whose real name is David Adkins, suffered an ischemic stroke in October 2020 after a blood clot from his heart traveled to his brain, according to the new donation page that chronicles his road to recovery.
The site explained Sinbad underwent an emergency thrombectomy to remove the clot, only for another to form the next day. While he was “talking and moving” after the first surgery, the surgery for the second clot “took a little more from him.” Soon after, his brain began to swell.
Doctors performed a craniotomy to relieve the pressure only to find a bleed in his brain. The “First Kid” actor was then brought to the ICU and put in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator.
“It would be weeks before he would open his eyes, speak, or show signs of basic mobility,” his family added. “It wasn’t long before we realized he couldn’t move his left side or simply hold his head up. The more time passed the more the family learned how much had been lost.”
Sinbad was “weaned off the ventilator” over the next few months and placed in acute care facilities before beginning physical therapy at the California Rehabilitation Institute in May 2021, the site explains. He finally came home in July 2021 — nine months after his initial stroke.
His family noted Sinbad’s odds of survival were at 30% at the time, but that “the multitude of prayers from all who know and love him” aided in his recovery. They’ve set up the Adkins Trust for donations, as Sinbad’s insurance doesn’t cover all his therapy costs.
“His progress is nothing short of remarkable,” his family wrote on the website. “Limbs that were said to be ‘dead’ are coming alive and he’s taking the steps necessary to learn to walk again. In his own words, ‘I am not done. I will not stop fighting until I can walk across the stage again.’ And neither will we.”
