WATERLOO - Jeff Isaacs is surrounded by hope.

Blanketing the walls of his hospital room are Bible verses in large type: "For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:37," "Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. I Peter 5:7," "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8."

His wife, Sandy, posted them during her husband's first few days in the hospital, to "remind everybody working around him that there was hope."

Jeff is now on day 96, recovering from a December stroke that left him without the use of his left side. At first, said Sandy, doctors thought he would need just two weeks of rehabilitation therapy, but Jeff's condition was more serious than they had thought. He suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel bursts inside the brain, causing damage to nearby brain tissue. Covenant Medical Center staff is working to clear up a staph infection and get Jeff stronger before releasing him.

In the more than three months since the stroke, Jeff has been away from Grand Junction, the recording studio he and Sandy started in 1978. Sandy does some editing, and she has kept up with requests to manufacture duplicate CDs and DVDs. She works her schedule around Jeff's needs and spends each day at the hospital with him. Jeff's nephew and his friends are working at learning the recording side of things, and any drop-in traffic is met with a sign on the door encouraging them to make an appointment.

"We usually book out two months in advance, but we weren't too booked up at the time. Those who had something scheduled soon found out about Jeff and shelved it," said Sandy.

Jeff's friends, many of them musicians, will lend their talents during an April 1 fundraiser to keep the studio going. Roger Miller, of local band Milk 'n' Honey, had no problem lining up music for the event.

"If we were to allow everyone who contacted us to play, if we'd give them all half-hour slots, it would be a two-day event," said Miller. The lineup currently includes Mick Staebell, Milk 'n' Honey and Grand Junction, the last group Jeff performed with.

"People around here don't know Jeff's qualities," said Miller. "Jeff was a tremendous singer, a ballsy, strong, on-pitch, beautiful singer."

Miller and Jeff have known each other for more than 30 years, and they played together for seven, traveling across the country and opening for acts like Johnny Paycheck and Clay and Sally Hart, who were popular on "The Lawrence Welk Show."

Sandy took a CD of Jeff and Miller playing to Jeff's hospital room, and he loves to listen to it, said Miller.

"I was up there one day, and he was singing a song," said Miller. "There are a few songs he just sang great, and one of those was playing. He said, 'That's my song.'"

Jeff grew the studio from an in-home affair to a state-of-the-art one, said Miller, and he learned everything on his own, from the ground up.

"Jeff and Sandy had visions of what they wanted to do with the studio and … they were real close to having what they completely wanted," he said.

As she does in the studio, Sandy is working next to her husband in his rehabilitation, making him the best he can be. When Jeff speaks, she understands him. She feeds him, reminds him to smile and expects nothing but the best efforts at rehabilitation. After nurses work with him in the morning, Sandy does exercises with him again in the afternoon, then works on speech therapy in the evening.

"I hope he will be completely back to normal. It may take a couple of years, but that's the attitude I want people to have," said Sandy. "Don't say, 'Oh, you can feed yourself. We're done.' I'm not satisfied with that. I don't want them placing limits on him."

Sandy points out that the steps Jeff has made have been small, but they are proof he is progressing. His diabetes has improved, and he has lost 40 pounds. Since the hospital took him off constant muscle relaxants, he's been able to help hospital staff move him out of bed, and he's been eating solid foods. He focuses on people when they speak to him, is aware of his surroundings and makes requests for Covenant to add the History Channel to its television lineup.

"God has the timeline, so we work with him. He gets us through each day," said Sandy.

Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.

{M3NEED TO KNOW

What: {M3Benefit for Jeff Isaacs, owner of Grand Junction Recording

{M3When:{M3 2 to 6 p.m. April 1

{M3Where: {M3South Waterloo Church of the Brethren, 6227 Kimball Ave.

{M3Activities: {M3Live music, bake sale, silent auction, live auction and raffle

{M3Cost: {M3Free-will offering; chili and homemade desserts served throughout the day

{M3More info: {M3To donate auction items, contact Mark Reiher at 266-1423 or 240-7055. To donate to the Jeff Isaacs fund, make checks payable to South Waterloo Church of the Brethren, c/o Jeff Isaacs. Raffle tickets can be purchased through the church by calling 232-3125.