Eric's Pulmonary Embolism/Blood Disorder Fight
Donation protected
Eric's Story
Eric is a 44 year old husband and father. Eric suffered an extremely life threatening Saddle Pulmonary Embolism. On 4/12/19, Eric was admitted to a mental health care facility by his in home ACT care team for continued treatment. Two days prior to being admitted to the mental health facility Eric's left leg became a little swollen and he was having a little difficulty bending his knee. Because of the swelling, an ultrasound was performed prior to his admittance to the mental health care facility. The test was normal. We were still a little concerned about the possibility of blood clots since he has a history of clots in his legs. His wife informed his nurse and care team at the mental facility of his history of blood clots upon his admittance, and urged them to seek immediate medical attention if his symptoms progressed.
Easter weekend, Eric began to complain of difficulty breathing and severe pain and swelling in his left leg, and despite the pleas of his wife, his nurses and care team ignored his symptoms for 4 days. This resulted in Eric being rushed to a near by hospital via ambulance. The ER ordered a leg ultrasound and chest CT scan. It was then discovered that Eric had a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) that completely blocked a deep vein from ankle to groin in his left leg. The blood clot broke off into a major artery going to his heart and lungs causing a large saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) to form on each side of his pulmonary artery. He also has multiple small clots within the vessels of his lungs that has caused some of his lung tissue to die. All of which is an extremely life threatening emergency. The ER doctor stated had Eric not been brought in, he would have died within a few hours. He was then life flighted to Emory Midtown in Atlanta, and Eric has remained in ICU since early Tuesday morning on 4/23.
Since being in ICU Eric has had a surgical procedure to insert catheters into the clots on each side of his pulmonary artery. The catheters will remain in place to continually inject medication directly into the clots in hopes of dissolving them quickly. He remains in critical but stable condition. His doctors are calling him the "miracle man" because despite everything, his vitals have remained excellent, which is not typical for someone with such a large PE. Eric will remain at risk for another PE or embolism to form until the clot has dissolved in his leg.
His doctors are also concerned that Eric possibly has a blood or genetic disorder that has caused this clot to form. We are currently awaiting test results to determine the exact cause. We also won't know the amount of damage to his lungs until all the clots have cleared.
Eric's healing journey is just beginning. He will likely remain in the hospital for several days and will require being under the care of hematology specialists at Emory for up to a year after he is discharged. Eric's family will desperately need help with the cost of his care, travel expenses since Emory is almost two hours away from their home, medications, food, and general living expenses since his wife will have to continually care for him until he is more able to function on his own. We are truly blessed as a family that Eric is still with us. <3 The Crowe family is extremely grateful for any donations so that we can focus on what is truly important and help Eric continue to fight for his life and to heal. God bless! <3
Eric is a 44 year old husband and father. Eric suffered an extremely life threatening Saddle Pulmonary Embolism. On 4/12/19, Eric was admitted to a mental health care facility by his in home ACT care team for continued treatment. Two days prior to being admitted to the mental health facility Eric's left leg became a little swollen and he was having a little difficulty bending his knee. Because of the swelling, an ultrasound was performed prior to his admittance to the mental health care facility. The test was normal. We were still a little concerned about the possibility of blood clots since he has a history of clots in his legs. His wife informed his nurse and care team at the mental facility of his history of blood clots upon his admittance, and urged them to seek immediate medical attention if his symptoms progressed.
Easter weekend, Eric began to complain of difficulty breathing and severe pain and swelling in his left leg, and despite the pleas of his wife, his nurses and care team ignored his symptoms for 4 days. This resulted in Eric being rushed to a near by hospital via ambulance. The ER ordered a leg ultrasound and chest CT scan. It was then discovered that Eric had a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) that completely blocked a deep vein from ankle to groin in his left leg. The blood clot broke off into a major artery going to his heart and lungs causing a large saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) to form on each side of his pulmonary artery. He also has multiple small clots within the vessels of his lungs that has caused some of his lung tissue to die. All of which is an extremely life threatening emergency. The ER doctor stated had Eric not been brought in, he would have died within a few hours. He was then life flighted to Emory Midtown in Atlanta, and Eric has remained in ICU since early Tuesday morning on 4/23.
Since being in ICU Eric has had a surgical procedure to insert catheters into the clots on each side of his pulmonary artery. The catheters will remain in place to continually inject medication directly into the clots in hopes of dissolving them quickly. He remains in critical but stable condition. His doctors are calling him the "miracle man" because despite everything, his vitals have remained excellent, which is not typical for someone with such a large PE. Eric will remain at risk for another PE or embolism to form until the clot has dissolved in his leg.
His doctors are also concerned that Eric possibly has a blood or genetic disorder that has caused this clot to form. We are currently awaiting test results to determine the exact cause. We also won't know the amount of damage to his lungs until all the clots have cleared.
Eric's healing journey is just beginning. He will likely remain in the hospital for several days and will require being under the care of hematology specialists at Emory for up to a year after he is discharged. Eric's family will desperately need help with the cost of his care, travel expenses since Emory is almost two hours away from their home, medications, food, and general living expenses since his wife will have to continually care for him until he is more able to function on his own. We are truly blessed as a family that Eric is still with us. <3 The Crowe family is extremely grateful for any donations so that we can focus on what is truly important and help Eric continue to fight for his life and to heal. God bless! <3
Organizer
Misty Lea Crowe
Organizer
Carrollton, GA