Crystla Robertson run the antique store Black Dog Vintage in downtown Centralia on Monday afternoon.
Black Dog Vintage’s Baron watches over the shop Monday afternoon in downtown Centralia.
In mid-December, Black Dog Vintage owner Dennis Koehler suffered a stroke. To help cover medical expenses, Koehler’s family and friends have created a GoFundMe page.
“He had absolutely no insurance, so we had multiple setbacks trying to get him into the rehab center,” said Crystal Robertson, who is running the antique store in Koehler’s absence and Black Dog Vintage’s bookkeeper. “We finally got some funds together and were able to pay a down payment. His brother and other people helped out through the GoFundMe and we were able to get him over to rehab.”
Since Koehler’s stroke, Robertson has run the store with the building owner. In addition, Robertson cares for Baron — the dog Black Dog Vintage is named for — and Koehler’s other dog “Little Bear.”
“He was trying to open the store and go about his morning routine,” said Robertson of Koehler’s stroke on Dec. 14. “(He) realized he wasn’t able to do so and wasn’t getting better. So he called me and I showed up here and called 911 immediately.”
Robertson said Koehler stayed in the hospital from the day of his stroke until last Friday due to lack of insurance.
“He sat at the hospital for two weeks pretty much until he got transferred over to rehab,” Robertson said. “Typically, with a stroke, they have them over for like three days at the hospital and then they get transferred over to physical therapy. But because he didn’t have any insurance, he didn’t have any choice.”
Robertson said Koehler’s options at that point were to stay in the hospital until he could walk out on his own or until someone could take him for 24-hour care.
“Now he is at physical therapy and he is doing much better,” Robertson said. “He is able to walk distances now. He’s gaining mobility back in his right arm.”
Robertson said she has noticed a huge improvement in Koehler’s speech as well.
“When it first happened, I could probably understand him 10 percent,” Robertson said. “Now, I can understand him about 90 percent of the time. But he definitely has a ways to go.”
Robertson said she does not know what the timeline is for Koehler’s rehabilitation, but that Koehler will reassess in the next two weeks what type of therapy he will need.
“Dennis has absolutely no medical insurance,” Robertson said. “If it wasn’t for the little bit of the money that we did collect from GoFundMe, he would still be sitting in the hospital and not getting the rehab that is needed. … It’s super important we continue to raise money through the GoFundMe, because he has been denied insurances multiple times now. It’s going to be a cash-basis thing, so he is going to come out of there with financial burden for sure.”
Robertson currently cares for Baron and Little Bear, who help her man the store.
“Everybody comes to the store for that dog,” said Robertson of Baron. “People will come here and be like ‘Oh we are just stopping by to see the dog.’”
Baron, who turned 12 over the summer, currently stays at Black Dog Vintage. Robertson already has three dogs of her own and small children, and felt that Baron would be more comfortable in a familiar environment.
“The first week he would just be laying at the front doors every time I came here, just waiting for his dad to come through the front door,” Robertson said. “It was really sad, but he is definitely coming around and he gets all his normal loving during the day. He’s happy here.”
Until Koehler is out of rehab, Robertson will continue running the shop.
“Keeping the doors open is our main concern at this point and hopefully getting Dennis back here and able to run the store,” Robertson said. “... This is his life, so him coming back here is the ultimate goal.”
For more information on donating, go to www.gofundme.com/medical-expenses-for-dennis-koehler.
