A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.

Hi, my name is Lindsay and I am putting this together for my best friend Abby Pastorella (Witwer), her husband Rocco, and 2 studmuffin sons, Dom and Enzo. In the early morning hours of 10/30 Abby woke up to the sound of her husband falling in the bathroom. Rocco had just recovered from a bout with Covid, to quickly turnaround and start fighting a sinus infection. When Abby found him on the bathroom floor he had lost most of his motor function in his legs and could only respond to yes or no questions. He was rushed to the ER at the Ephrata Hospital where many things were thrown around as doctors worked to identify the cause. The final diagnoses was the pus from his sinus infection migrated to his brain causing an infection in his brain. They think because his immune system was down from his recent battle with Covid, his body was unable to fight off the sinus infection making him more vulnerable to the infection taking its course and getting worse before it got better. He was transferred to York Wellspan Hospital where they have specialized doctors and resources to identify the best path forward to beat this infection.

Rocco had surgery on 11/2 to remove the pus from his sinuses. This procedure was a success and now we wait for the labs which will hopefully tell us what type of bacteria we are dealing with and in turn what antibiotic(s) he should be on.

Abby has not left her husband's side as he continues to fight this battle. He was able to get a few words out the other day which was both hopeful and heartbreaking as they were, "miss kids." Their road will most likely not be a quick or straight one. The doctors suspect that it will take months for him to gain his full motor functions and speech back. It is unknown when Rocco will return home. It is unknown what it will take to get him fully recovered. They are still weighing their options.

What we do know is Rocco will not be able to return to work anytime soon. Abby has missed days of work and will most likely continue to. When Rocco returns home he will need to be cared for with a tentative recovery plan that includes Abby being trained on administering IV antibiotics as well as him attending some sort of rehab. Also, additional childcare will be needed as Rocco and Abby juggle keeping the ship afloat while battling this infection.

Friends, family, strangers, humans- I know times are hard and everyone is fighting something. This is where every little bit counts. Nothing is too small. If you feel drawn to give, thank you. If you are not at a spot to give, we understand. I ask that you then pray to your God, send healing thoughts, love, and/or support to the Pastorella/Witwer family.

Be safe out there.