Eddie's Long Journey Home

Every family has a story….Welcome to ours.  With a heavy heart coupled with the utmost hope that my husband will completely recover, I am reaching out for financial help.   We are a working middle class family, and my husband is a military veteran.  Our life, as we knew it, drastically changed on January 14, 2017.  My husband, Eddie, woke up and asked me to take him to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing.  I thought the sky would fall on us, as he NEVER goes to a doctor or hospital, except for annual check-ups.  I took him to the closest hospital ER.  He was diagnosed with Influenza Type A and was running a fever of 102.7.  His blood pressure and heart rate were higher than normal.  He was given Tamiflu, Tylenol for the fever and Albuterol breathing treatments. When the fever would not break, he was admitted.  While in his room, he continued to complain of shortness of breath and great difficulty breathing.  I asked his nurse to have a doctor come in to examine him and prescribe something to help him breathe.  At that point, I touched his chest and his heart was pounding so rapidly, I thought it would burst through his chest.  His blood pressure was also extremely high.  The doctor came in and prescribed medication, which the nurse administered.  While talking to my husband, his eyes rolled back and he stopped breathing.  His last words to me were “save me.”  I screamed for the nurse, who was at her computer in his room.  She felt his neck and immediately called a Code Blue.  I was escorted out of his room, while a medical team worked to revive him.  A few minutes later I was told they revived him and were taking him to the ICU.   At that point, I was assured he would be okay.  I had to leave that hospital to pick up my daughter, who was being released from a different hospital.  I honestly don’t know how I drove or the route that I took to pick her up.  On the return trip, we telephoned the ICU to find out how my husband was doing.  We were told he was on life support.  We went back to the ICU, where he remained until 1/22/17.  In addition to being on a ventilator, they had to administer a paralytic to keep him from moving.  They also cooled his body to prevent brain damage.  Eventually they discontinued the paralytic and warmed his body and weaned him off the ventilator.  He also developed pneumonia and was on a multitude of IVS and numerous drugs.  They finally put in a PICC line with various ports and a nasal feeding tube.   Because the hospital he was in did not have an acute care telemetry unit and he could no longer be treated in the ICU, he was transported to an acute care hospital known as Select Specialty Hospital on 1/22/17.  He was still unresponsive and still had pneumonia.  This hospital specialized in pulmonary care.  Eddie eventually started to mumble incoherently and to wake up periodically during the day.  A PEG Line was inserted in his stomach, so he could receive nourishment.  They gave him physical therapy by trying to unclench his fists and straighten him arms.  They worked with him to get him to sit up without assistance and to learn to swallow liquids.  He was diagnosed with an anoxic brain injury.  Although his brain stem is intact, he has suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen when he coded.  (The ICU bill is a smidgen less than $150,000.00)  He finally was on a full liquid diet for a few days prior to being transferred to Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, FL.  We had to borrow funds and receive help to pay for the $3,000+ ambulance charge which was not covered by insurance.    At Brooks he is receiving extensive and intense speech, occupational and physical therapy.  His arms are no longer like “chicken wings”.  They are straightening out and his fingers are more flexible.  The drugs he is receiving are waking him up and he is coherent, although he is speaking very slowly.   They are working with him to learn how to walk again.  He has to learn how to use a toilet.  The most devastating injury he has is partial blindness.  He cannot see clearly – only shadows.  We don’t know if he will ever fully recover his sight.  He has been examined by a neuro-opthamologist and a neurologist.  He has had an MRI of his optic nerves to ascertain if there is any damage to the optic nerve.  His visual impairment may be the result of amantadine toxicity or the anoxic brain injury.  The MRI results have not been received yet.  This man is the sole support of our family and is our “rock”.  He was living a “normal” life.  (As an aside, many years ago our dog was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  We were given the option of having our pet’s hind legs removed or euthanizing our dog, because of this diagnosis.  Eddie would not consider either option.  By contacting various veterinary schools, he found a veterinarian who was doing experimental surgery.  We lived in NY at the time.  We packed our bags and went to Colorado State University.  The tumors were removed from our pet’s legs and methyl methacrylate and rush pins were placed in both legs.  He then received radiation for a month.  He was able to walk, but needed chemotherapy.  The initial protocol for treating Multiple Myeloma in humans was developed on our dog.  Eddie spent a great deal of money to treat our pet, but the results were worth it.  Our dog lived for another 3-1/2 years with no residual side effects, and humans diagnosed with multiple myeloma were able to be treated with chemotherapy because of Eddie’s love for our pet!  This is the type of person my husband is.  He always says that if Plan A doesn’t work, have a Plan B ready.  I know he will give 200% effort to complete his therapy and obtain the best possible recovery.)  He will have to go to a nursing home/rehabilitation facility when he is released from Brooks.  We don’t know how long this additional rehabilitation will take.  In the meantime, because they want the family to participate in his rehabilitation, I am unable to work at the present time.  If Eddie does not recover his sight, I will have to be his full-time caregiver.  I will then seek employment working from home.  On top of Eddie’s situation, our daughter has a very rare vascular condition which requires surgery.  Prior to Eddie’s hospitalization, he found a surgeon at Mayo Clinic in MN.  We had intentions of going to MN in February for our daughter’s operation.  Obviously, this has not been possible.  When he does come home, we will have to relocate to a residence which is on one level, as Eddie might be in a wheelchair, if he cannot walk or see again.   We have no family to help us, it’s just my daughter and I.  I am drowning in additional expenses incurred because of this nightmare and need financial help.  If we can get through the next 6 months, I will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as I hope to be working and being able to pay our bills and keep a roof over our heads.  We truly appreciate your taking the time to read our story and for any assistance you can provide.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

-Carole-