Dean Didier stays on comeback from stroke

Dean Didier was good at what he did. The 35-year-old father of four was an installation manager at a heating, air conditioning and electrical firm, where he supervised a crew of 26.

Then four days before Christmas, in December 2001, something went terribly wrong. A blood clot formed in Didier’s brain, and he suffered a severe stroke while driving his company truck to his home in Clayton, Wash.

He managed to steer the truck to the right shoulder of the road and push the brake down, stopping the pickup against the guardrail.

A Washington State Patrol trooper happened to be behind him. The trooper jumped out of his car and was able to turn off the ignition in Didier’s truck. Miraculously, no one else was injured. Even the truck had no damage.

Didier was taken to Holy Family Hospital. The stroke weakened his entire right side, paralyzing his right arm.

It also caused aphasia, a disorder that results from damage to language centers of the brain. As a result, people who were previously able to communicate through speaking, listening, reading and writing become more limited in their ability to do so. Words need to be relearned.

The stroke was probably associated with the levels of blood thinners that Didier had taken since heart-valve replacement surgery 10 years earlier.

Now at age 38, after slow but steady progress, Didier once again excels at his job.

He works in the production department at Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest, where he was recently honored with the company’s first Independence Award.

The staff that nominated Didier for the award wrote: “We knew that Dean wanted to work, even though a referring agency said he was unable to. After a stint in our packaging department, he went to work at our North Nevada Street store. He comes to work and continues to improve.

“He is limited to the use of one hand, but that does not stop him. He is able to hang clothes, tag accessories, unwrap glass items, and place them in a cart. He’s the best shoe cleaner in the facility.

“To sum up Dean’s progress, if there is a will, there is a way, and don’t stand in his way.”

JoAnn Hoke and Helen Kidney work with Didier. They are amazed at his continued determination to succeed in whatever he does.

“He keeps me coming back every day,” said Hoke. “He now works three days a week, side-by-side with the regular crew. His production is way up.”

Didier and his family gathered recently at a reception at Goodwill, where he was presented with a photo from the award ceremony that was held in March.

Jack Lilienthal, program manager at Goodwill, presented him with the photo and said, “I really enjoy working with Dean. He’s continued to make progress all along — slow, but steady.

“He’s been such an inspiration to me. I’m so proud of him. He didn’t give up.”

According to Lilienthal, Goodwill has helped more than 2,000 people with disabilities and disadvantages through training, employment and education.

“I’ve never had to turn anyone away,” said Lilienthal. Out of every dollar Goodwill takes in, 85 cents goes to training programs.

“For the longest time we didn’t know what to do,” said Paul Didier, Dean’s oldest brother. If a family hasn’t gone through something like this before, it can be overwhelming. When state funds run out, you’re on your own.

But Dean’s family knew that he had to do something. He had to keep moving forward.

He needed to feel productive. Paul said that his brother works hard and continues to set goals for himself.

Didier is now able to move his right arm and continues to work so that someday he will be able to move the fingers on his right hand. He continues to pick up words — something the doctors said he probably wouldn’t be able to do.

After the reception, Didier and his brothers, Peter and Paul, went to the lake to go tubing, something Dean hadn’t been able to do in a long time.

“He did fine. We had a lot of fun,” Paul said.

Didier’s family believes that working at Goodwill Industries has really helped him. They gave him the chance to work again and in doing so gave him a second chance and a new life.