Help Bring David Home

November Update

Today, David would like to share that he has a planned discharge date from Shirley Ryan!

Over the last four months, David and our family have worked closely with his therapists, doctors, and care team at Shirley Ryan to ensure a safe transfer from Chicago to Minnesota. While home is the long-term goal and very much in reach, we have determined the best and safest next step for David is a private group home. Here, David will have the opportunity to be reintroduced to life outside of a hospital setting. He'll be transitioning to home health care for ongoing medical management and rehabilitation in a home setting. At this time, David still requires 24-hour care for his medically complex case, and we are all so grateful for this short-term service to help David transition back into the community.

We don’t know how we can ever thank you enough for all of the love and support that each of you has shown. Together, you have helped secure an Angel MedFlight that will transport David to Minnesota via air ambulance. You have given David the ability to access one-to-one care that will be crucial to his success as he navigates this next big step. And you have given our family hope that bringing David home is possible.

Although our course has shifted slightly, we remain steadfast in securing the best care for David each step of the way. We also know this is the most considerable ongoing expense, and we will use any remaining donations to help offset his cost of care.

Please keep him in your prayers as he navigates this next chapter.

September Update

Hello All! We are continuously grateful for the love and support David continues to receive from so many. Your generosity is overwhelming, and David is lucky to have so many wonderful people in his life.

David continues to make progress at the AbilityLab. He has daily therapy sessions, including Physical and Occupational Therapy, focusing on strength and mobility in his wheelchair. Adaptive Technology Therapy, where David is increasing his ability and gaining independence for things like phone calls, texts, emails and surfing the internet. And, of course, his favorite, Speech Therapy, where he focuses on sustained conversation with a goal of all-day communication with his friends, family and care team! With repetition and the help of his excellent therapists, David is getting stronger every day.

Over the last few months, during his free time, David has spent afternoons and weekends with family, and friends visiting from the surrounding areas, Texas, Minnesota and even some familiar faces from RLCC! Unsurprisingly, being around and spending time with so many of you brings him the most joy. Well, that and the Vikings, now that football season has returned!

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't share that September is Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Awareness Month. It's been the most challenging but rewarding experience to encourage our dad to work toward achieving something he is proud of. Giving words of encouragement and celebrating milestones continue to lift his spirit and build his confidence! Thank you to everyone who continues to reach out, share his story, and offer love, support and community. It means so much to him and us. Sharing a little video of his journey so far.

Original Post

For those who know David, he has likely memorably touched your life. David's gift is connection - always at ease in conversation, able to find a way to relate to others, no matter how different they may be. Always willing to lend an ear, he loves to hear about others' experiences - their past, their ideas and their plans for the future.

On February 24, 2022, David fell down a flight of stairs and sustained a severe and complete Spinal Cord Injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. While in the ICU, he endured several respiratory complications, four surgeries and multiple procedures.

In early April, after 43 days in the ICU, David began recovery at RML Specialty hospital with the hopes of weaning him from the ventilator. As David was unable to wean from the ventilator, he was finally transferred to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab after 61 days at RML.

On June 7th, David arrived at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. However, after a week was rushed to Northwestern Memorial for treatment for suspected pneumonia - a common complication after spinal cord injuries. After a two-week stay at NWM, David was transferred back to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to resume therapy.

It is here, at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, that David is finally being treated specifically for his unique injury - a severed spinal cord between the C3-C4 cervical vertebra. At this level, the damage has left David quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator.

At SRALab, the goal is rehabilitation to go home, and David and his family are thrilled to share that home is the goal! As we now have a better understanding of his impairment, what his recovery goals are and how we need to plan for his long-anticipated return to Minnesota in a few short weeks, donations will help us outfit a level of his daughter's home in Minnesota to create a safe and accessible space that David can call his own. It will also help provide a wheelchair-accessible vehicle to transport David to his therapies and to help him see a little more of a place that is so dear to his heart, medical expenses, at-home care, rehabilitation and any other support required for David's ongoing recovery.

Over the months, we have been so grateful for the love, prayers and support we as a family received from so many. As David's prognosis is more clear, we are asking for support to help bring David home!

With our sincerest appreciation,

The Ohlson Family