I am Dean’s mother, Sandy Strauss. As his Mother, I wanted to share some news about Dean’s health for everyone who cares about him. In July, Dean experienced sudden cardiac arrest while driving home from a dairy meeting in St. Paul.
Dean’s last blog and Facebook post is titled, “No One Does It Alone” and is about how farming takes a team. It is also about remembering to thank the people who got you where you are and expressing gratitude for your team every day. It was posted on July 17th. Little did Dean know how much his life would change the next day. Dean loved everything he did each day. He loved his family and let it show.
We all went 36 hours without sleep as we went to St. Paul with the help of our son-in-law, Rick, daughter, Sara, and Jen Walsh. The first 24-48 hours were critical. This was the magic timeline to see if Dean would survive. He was at Regions Hospital in St. Paul for many weeks. He is now at Select Specialty Care Hospital in West Allis. We hope he will be transferred to a rehabilitation center in the near future. Hopefully closer.
Through all of this, we have had many calls, texts and messages sent to us on Dean’s behalf. We have also met many new people filled with love and concern for Dean, mainly in prayer form. If you ask what can be done? Prayers for healing and patience.
While traveling to see him this week, I wrote “The sky is bright and the clouds are white, yet nothing is right.” We are going to hold our shields together in prayer and believe the Lord is going to make things right in time and patience. Our strength comes from Heaven Above.
Dean’s office is empty now, but his presence is there. The farm goes on with his team he has always expressed so much gratitude for.
As the four families who run Majestic Crossing Dairy, we have decided to continue the farm’s blog and Facebook page. It is what Dean would want.
Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to keep you updated on Dean’s health.