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The Gambinos are part of my church family. I am setting up this Fund Me Account for the Gambino family to help them through this medical and financial challenge. Julius is a very hard worker as a Deputy Corrections Officer for the Will County Sherriff in Joliet. His wife, Tracie, home schools their two teenage sons, Thomas and Nicholas. They have been active in Boy Scouts for the past eleven years and have been in various types of leadership and committee positions. They are the first ones to volunteer for any need that comes up in their church. They were Awana leaders for three years. As a family, they all volunteer in their church Manna Food Pantry. This is a ministry that helps distribute food that feeds approximately 130 people each month. Tracie has been involved as a leader of VBS for several years. Now that the boys are older, they also come and help for the week of VBS, working with all the children attending.
Scripture promises challenges in our lives, and this family has had several. While they have difficulty in asking for assistance, we are prayerfully hopeful that many will respond to their story and help their family get through this medical crisis.
This is the story of Julius Gambino, the husband and father of two sons. On the evening of November 16, 2018, Julius started having some shoulder pains. By the next day, the pain had intensified and he felt it was probably a pulled muscle. Throughout the weekend the pain worsened, and by Monday, he had very little movement in his arm, so Julius went to see a massage therapist. The therapist did not find any evidence of a pulled muscle, but felt that some of his rotator cuff muscles were inflamed. On November 20, Julius went to see a Physician's Assistant at his primary care facility. They referred him to an Orthopedic doctor for further evaluation.
The Orthopedic doctor took x-rays and did an examination. The doctor told him that he had a small tear in the rotator cuff, but the pain he was experiencing was not the source of his discomfort. As the pain was on the left side, the doctor felt that it could be heart related. The doctor recommended that Julius go to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible. Julius and Tracie immediately went to the hospital where they began the tests to diagnose for a heart problem. The EKG, blood work including cardiac enzymes were normal. There was no indication of any kind of heart involvement. The pain had been restricting his breathing. The x-ray showed that Julius had a touch of pneumonia. They started him on an antibiotic IV and gave him medication to control the pain which by this time was extremely intense. Julius was admitted to the hospital for further monitoring and diagnosis.
All day Thanksgiving, there were numerous tests particularly focusing on his heart. The initial diagnosis of pneumonia was not the cause of his pain. As soon as Julius was able to take deep breaths consistently, the pain went away. By Friday morning it was determined that he had a blood infection called: Staphylococcal Aureus Bacterium. More blood tests were done to try and figure out where the infection was originating. More antibiotics were administered to treat and control the infection. By Saturday, it was revealed that there was no MRSA present, but the strain of the infection Julius had was serious and it could become sepsis. This bacteria travels through your body and likes to find places to hide in joints, ligaments and tendons. It remains dormant until something "activates" it. His shoulder was a place where the infection resided -- but not the source,
They did an MRI on Saturday night on his shoulder. The results were revealed on Monday which showed a minor tear in the rotator cuff and the presence of this infection, but not the source. On Monday, they performed a TEE (transesophageal echocardiography). This test was done to determine if the infection was in his heart. Praise God the results were clear! They had to wait 48 hours for a blood culture to have a negative reading which finally came on Tuesday.
The end result was they put in a PICC line so that antibiotic treatment could be administered via IV at home. The antibiotic is to be given three times a day for four weeks. After the four-week period, Julius will have to be reassessed. A blood infection of this type requires a longer time for Julius to be on the antibiotic because he has had two hip replacements and Julius also had surgery in his cervical spine and had a titanium place put in that replaced two vertebrae. The infection has to be completely gone for some time to make sure it does not give him further health problems.
What this means for Julius and his family, is that he will be out of work for a minimum of six weeks. It could be longer if he has any kind of set back. He still has to regain strength and be able to physically return to work. At this time Julius has no sick days or vacation time available. The family will be in a financial crisis which has already begun.
We are asking for financial assistance for this family to help with the payment of their bills due to the income loss over this period of time. He has co-pays for all of his upcoming doctor appointments with the general practitioner, cardiologist, and infectious disease doctor. The family would greatly appreciate anything that you would be able to contribute that would help ease the financial burden during Julius' illness and recovery time. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. God Bless You!
Scripture promises challenges in our lives, and this family has had several. While they have difficulty in asking for assistance, we are prayerfully hopeful that many will respond to their story and help their family get through this medical crisis.
This is the story of Julius Gambino, the husband and father of two sons. On the evening of November 16, 2018, Julius started having some shoulder pains. By the next day, the pain had intensified and he felt it was probably a pulled muscle. Throughout the weekend the pain worsened, and by Monday, he had very little movement in his arm, so Julius went to see a massage therapist. The therapist did not find any evidence of a pulled muscle, but felt that some of his rotator cuff muscles were inflamed. On November 20, Julius went to see a Physician's Assistant at his primary care facility. They referred him to an Orthopedic doctor for further evaluation.
The Orthopedic doctor took x-rays and did an examination. The doctor told him that he had a small tear in the rotator cuff, but the pain he was experiencing was not the source of his discomfort. As the pain was on the left side, the doctor felt that it could be heart related. The doctor recommended that Julius go to a hospital emergency room as soon as possible. Julius and Tracie immediately went to the hospital where they began the tests to diagnose for a heart problem. The EKG, blood work including cardiac enzymes were normal. There was no indication of any kind of heart involvement. The pain had been restricting his breathing. The x-ray showed that Julius had a touch of pneumonia. They started him on an antibiotic IV and gave him medication to control the pain which by this time was extremely intense. Julius was admitted to the hospital for further monitoring and diagnosis.
All day Thanksgiving, there were numerous tests particularly focusing on his heart. The initial diagnosis of pneumonia was not the cause of his pain. As soon as Julius was able to take deep breaths consistently, the pain went away. By Friday morning it was determined that he had a blood infection called: Staphylococcal Aureus Bacterium. More blood tests were done to try and figure out where the infection was originating. More antibiotics were administered to treat and control the infection. By Saturday, it was revealed that there was no MRSA present, but the strain of the infection Julius had was serious and it could become sepsis. This bacteria travels through your body and likes to find places to hide in joints, ligaments and tendons. It remains dormant until something "activates" it. His shoulder was a place where the infection resided -- but not the source,
They did an MRI on Saturday night on his shoulder. The results were revealed on Monday which showed a minor tear in the rotator cuff and the presence of this infection, but not the source. On Monday, they performed a TEE (transesophageal echocardiography). This test was done to determine if the infection was in his heart. Praise God the results were clear! They had to wait 48 hours for a blood culture to have a negative reading which finally came on Tuesday.
The end result was they put in a PICC line so that antibiotic treatment could be administered via IV at home. The antibiotic is to be given three times a day for four weeks. After the four-week period, Julius will have to be reassessed. A blood infection of this type requires a longer time for Julius to be on the antibiotic because he has had two hip replacements and Julius also had surgery in his cervical spine and had a titanium place put in that replaced two vertebrae. The infection has to be completely gone for some time to make sure it does not give him further health problems.
What this means for Julius and his family, is that he will be out of work for a minimum of six weeks. It could be longer if he has any kind of set back. He still has to regain strength and be able to physically return to work. At this time Julius has no sick days or vacation time available. The family will be in a financial crisis which has already begun.
We are asking for financial assistance for this family to help with the payment of their bills due to the income loss over this period of time. He has co-pays for all of his upcoming doctor appointments with the general practitioner, cardiologist, and infectious disease doctor. The family would greatly appreciate anything that you would be able to contribute that would help ease the financial burden during Julius' illness and recovery time. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. God Bless You!
Organizer and beneficiary
Vickey Wiberg Eisenbeis
Organizer
New Lenox, IL
Tracie Gambino
Beneficiary