Shashank - brain injury fund
Donation protected
To say he had a unique mind would not be doing him justice. Shashank had one of those minds that made you wish you could study its inner workings and see what really went on up there. Among his talents he was a seasoned sitar player, a self-discovered poet, had a band for which he wrote lyrics and music and sang vocals, and he studied philosophy and law. People were drawn to his loud voice and open personality. He was outgoing and introverted all at the same time. If you got to know him well enough, you could tell the wheels were always spinning. He was constantly thinking, philosophizing, wondering. Studying law at FSU, he spent his free time looking for new experiences. He frequently went on expeditions on his own, whether it be to a brewery or the beach, meeting and subsequently captivating people everywhere he went. He was a free spirit and embodied living every day like it was the last. He is loved by many, especially his two older brothers and his parents.
The bond between him and his brothers is particularly extraordinary. All 3 brothers, separated by only 3 few years, are astonishingly close. Growing up they did everything together and Winay, the oldest brother, always protected his younger siblings. Shashank looked up to his oldest brother all his life, and they remained very close. Even when separated by distance, they always came back to the same close relationship they always shared. They laughed, they fought, but they all always looked out for each other and you could tell nothing could every come between the bond of these three brothers.
On June 23, 2015, Winay, myself (his fiancé), our two dogs and Shashank finished piling two cars with our belongings and began the long journey to Denver, Colorado. Winay and myself were moving there for medical residency and Shashank wanted to come along for the ride and was to fly home after a week. Looking forward to experiencing a new place, he eagerly wrote on his facebook that morning “Off to Denver, Colorado, Whoo!” We were barely out of the state and into Georgia when we decided to stop for some food. After dinner, Shashank took over driving my car, with our rat terrier, Diesel, sitting snuggly in a makeshift dog bed in the passenger seat. I climbed into the passenger seat of Winay’s car with our yorkie, Jaida. Off on the road again, we drove into the night. Everything was going as planned until around 1 am, 30 minutes south of Atlanta. All of a sudden Winay screamed “Wrong way driver!!” and swerved out of the way at the last second, narrowly saving everyone in the car from certain death. All I remember seeing was bright lights for a split second and then we lost control of the car. The car finally came to a halt after what seemed like hours of screaming and not knowing if he'd be able to stop the car. We smashed into the guard rail on the drivers side, but we were okay physically. When we did finally stop, the first thing Winay said was “Look back. Can you see my brother??” Before receiving an answer he jumped out of the car and took off. I climbed over the driver’s seat to get out of the car quickly, worried about other cars slamming into us. I grabbed my dog, called 911, and took off running toward the scene behind us. I saw approximately 5 cars scattered across the road. A man way lying face down on the pavement. A large red truck, the only car facing the wrong direction on the road. I knew that was the one. Then I saw my vehicle off to the left side. The passenger side was a twisted pile of metal and at that moment I knew my dog was gone. Before I could even contemplate losing my dog, I saw Winay leaning into the driver’s seat. He found his brother with his head in the steering wheel, breathing abnormally, blood everywhere. Paramedics began to show up to the chaotic scene, and you could tell they didn’t know where to start. Winay screamed at the top of his lungs to get one of their attention. No one had noticed the car Shashank was in as it was off to the far side. Finally someone came over and urged Winay to step away, but he would not leave until they got his brother out. The car was on fire, yet he stood there holding his brother's head up so he could breathe. They finally pried the door open with the jaws of life and began working on Shashank. They quickly sent him off in an ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center. We raced to the hospital, not knowing if we’d ever see him alive again. When we finally got to the hospital he was still in the ER. Winay paced tirelessly and contemplated what he would say to his poor parents when he woke them in the middle of the night to tell them their son was in bad shape and they needed to come to Atlanta right away.
He was finally stabilized enough to be transferred to the ICU. When we first saw him again I was in complete shock. He did not look like the Shashank I had seen just a few hours before, so full of vibrance and life. Now he lay in a bed, on a respirator, face severely swollen, head partially shaved, with an intracranial pressure bulb sticking from his head. Lines and tubes took over the space, leading to countless monitors that would beep loudly without notice and send you into a panic. The next few weeks were horrific. His parents came and saw their son in a way that would break any parent’s heart. He was in a coma for nearly 3 weeks, and waking him up proved to be a difficult process as he would become severely agitated and his intracranial pressure would rise rapidly. As he had no insurance at this time, rehabs would come and evaluate him and say he was not ready and that they would not accept him. He finally was transferred to Tampa General Hospital, only because his parents knew someone who worked there who could get him accepted. There his father, who has worked tirelessly his entire life as an occupational therapist, never taking a day off, would drive 45 minutes twice a day to perform therapy on his son in addition to the minimal hospital therapy he received. His mother, who has health problems of her own, would have someone drive her the 45 minutes to the hospital daily, never missing a day of being by her son’s side. After a total of 3 months in the hospital he was finally transferred to in patient rehab at TGH.
As grateful as we are for the care he has received, he needs so much more. If he is to regain any sort of a functional life he needs specialized rehab for traumatic brain injury. Currently, he is improving but has a long way to go. His parent’s cannot take him home as they do not have the ability to care for him on their own. The rehab he is currently in is suggesting he be discharged to a nursing home, a place where he would receive not therapy what so ever and be left to sit there all day, every day and develop bedsores and countless other comorbidities. Shashank was so full of life before and he deserves a chance to regain whatever function he can. He would not want to live a life where all experience has been robbed from him. Myself, Winay and his family will stop at nothing and will pursue every avenue we can to get him specialized TBI rehabilitation.
Currently it seems our only option is to pay ourselves for him to go to a traumatic brain injury center for rehabilitation. There they have a unique team who specializes in treating young patents with trauma to the brain. They are up to date on the latest research and techniques and have a much higher success rate at returning these people to a somewhat normal life. It is not even an option we will think about that Shashank not go to one of these neuro rehabs. He is a very special person and the world is much worse off without someone like him in it.
Please help his dedicated, hard working parents. Please help them not to have to sell their house and everything they've worked so hard for their entire life. They love their son so much they would sell the clothes off their back to get him the help he needs. All they want is to see their son regain some of what he had before a person selfishly took it all away from him in one split second. Even if you can only donate a few dollars, please do it. Every bit helps and if everyone could donate something maybe Shashank will have a chance to regain the beautiful spirit he had previously.
The bond between him and his brothers is particularly extraordinary. All 3 brothers, separated by only 3 few years, are astonishingly close. Growing up they did everything together and Winay, the oldest brother, always protected his younger siblings. Shashank looked up to his oldest brother all his life, and they remained very close. Even when separated by distance, they always came back to the same close relationship they always shared. They laughed, they fought, but they all always looked out for each other and you could tell nothing could every come between the bond of these three brothers.
On June 23, 2015, Winay, myself (his fiancé), our two dogs and Shashank finished piling two cars with our belongings and began the long journey to Denver, Colorado. Winay and myself were moving there for medical residency and Shashank wanted to come along for the ride and was to fly home after a week. Looking forward to experiencing a new place, he eagerly wrote on his facebook that morning “Off to Denver, Colorado, Whoo!” We were barely out of the state and into Georgia when we decided to stop for some food. After dinner, Shashank took over driving my car, with our rat terrier, Diesel, sitting snuggly in a makeshift dog bed in the passenger seat. I climbed into the passenger seat of Winay’s car with our yorkie, Jaida. Off on the road again, we drove into the night. Everything was going as planned until around 1 am, 30 minutes south of Atlanta. All of a sudden Winay screamed “Wrong way driver!!” and swerved out of the way at the last second, narrowly saving everyone in the car from certain death. All I remember seeing was bright lights for a split second and then we lost control of the car. The car finally came to a halt after what seemed like hours of screaming and not knowing if he'd be able to stop the car. We smashed into the guard rail on the drivers side, but we were okay physically. When we did finally stop, the first thing Winay said was “Look back. Can you see my brother??” Before receiving an answer he jumped out of the car and took off. I climbed over the driver’s seat to get out of the car quickly, worried about other cars slamming into us. I grabbed my dog, called 911, and took off running toward the scene behind us. I saw approximately 5 cars scattered across the road. A man way lying face down on the pavement. A large red truck, the only car facing the wrong direction on the road. I knew that was the one. Then I saw my vehicle off to the left side. The passenger side was a twisted pile of metal and at that moment I knew my dog was gone. Before I could even contemplate losing my dog, I saw Winay leaning into the driver’s seat. He found his brother with his head in the steering wheel, breathing abnormally, blood everywhere. Paramedics began to show up to the chaotic scene, and you could tell they didn’t know where to start. Winay screamed at the top of his lungs to get one of their attention. No one had noticed the car Shashank was in as it was off to the far side. Finally someone came over and urged Winay to step away, but he would not leave until they got his brother out. The car was on fire, yet he stood there holding his brother's head up so he could breathe. They finally pried the door open with the jaws of life and began working on Shashank. They quickly sent him off in an ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center. We raced to the hospital, not knowing if we’d ever see him alive again. When we finally got to the hospital he was still in the ER. Winay paced tirelessly and contemplated what he would say to his poor parents when he woke them in the middle of the night to tell them their son was in bad shape and they needed to come to Atlanta right away.
He was finally stabilized enough to be transferred to the ICU. When we first saw him again I was in complete shock. He did not look like the Shashank I had seen just a few hours before, so full of vibrance and life. Now he lay in a bed, on a respirator, face severely swollen, head partially shaved, with an intracranial pressure bulb sticking from his head. Lines and tubes took over the space, leading to countless monitors that would beep loudly without notice and send you into a panic. The next few weeks were horrific. His parents came and saw their son in a way that would break any parent’s heart. He was in a coma for nearly 3 weeks, and waking him up proved to be a difficult process as he would become severely agitated and his intracranial pressure would rise rapidly. As he had no insurance at this time, rehabs would come and evaluate him and say he was not ready and that they would not accept him. He finally was transferred to Tampa General Hospital, only because his parents knew someone who worked there who could get him accepted. There his father, who has worked tirelessly his entire life as an occupational therapist, never taking a day off, would drive 45 minutes twice a day to perform therapy on his son in addition to the minimal hospital therapy he received. His mother, who has health problems of her own, would have someone drive her the 45 minutes to the hospital daily, never missing a day of being by her son’s side. After a total of 3 months in the hospital he was finally transferred to in patient rehab at TGH.
As grateful as we are for the care he has received, he needs so much more. If he is to regain any sort of a functional life he needs specialized rehab for traumatic brain injury. Currently, he is improving but has a long way to go. His parent’s cannot take him home as they do not have the ability to care for him on their own. The rehab he is currently in is suggesting he be discharged to a nursing home, a place where he would receive not therapy what so ever and be left to sit there all day, every day and develop bedsores and countless other comorbidities. Shashank was so full of life before and he deserves a chance to regain whatever function he can. He would not want to live a life where all experience has been robbed from him. Myself, Winay and his family will stop at nothing and will pursue every avenue we can to get him specialized TBI rehabilitation.
Currently it seems our only option is to pay ourselves for him to go to a traumatic brain injury center for rehabilitation. There they have a unique team who specializes in treating young patents with trauma to the brain. They are up to date on the latest research and techniques and have a much higher success rate at returning these people to a somewhat normal life. It is not even an option we will think about that Shashank not go to one of these neuro rehabs. He is a very special person and the world is much worse off without someone like him in it.
Please help his dedicated, hard working parents. Please help them not to have to sell their house and everything they've worked so hard for their entire life. They love their son so much they would sell the clothes off their back to get him the help he needs. All they want is to see their son regain some of what he had before a person selfishly took it all away from him in one split second. Even if you can only donate a few dollars, please do it. Every bit helps and if everyone could donate something maybe Shashank will have a chance to regain the beautiful spirit he had previously.
Organizer and beneficiary
Hollie Gaeto
Organizer
Denver, CO
Winay Virkud
Beneficiary