NEED TO KNOW
After an anoxic brain injury, Kenny Thorley lost his ability to speak, walk and swallow
Since then, his family has been rallying together to help support him through a difficult recovery journey
Still, Thorley has maintained his sense of humor despite having to use an iPad to communicate
In January 2025, Madisen Franklin's father, Kenny Thorley, suffered a massive heart attack , causing his heart to stop.
During those harrowing 45 minutes, the father of six and grandfather of seven from Mesa, Ariz., suffered an anoxic brain injury, resulting in the loss of his ability to speak, walk and swallow.
Once loud and bubbly, Thorley, 51, now mainly communicates by typing on an iPad, along with sign language.
“This has been an abrupt and very painful change in our family dyna