A.J. Medical Fund

My name is Susie and I am trying to raise money for medical bills for my son A.J.  On July 18, 2014, A.J. was at boxing practice when he suffered a cardiac arrest.  He was just 20 years old and in the healthiest condition ever.  Luckily, his coach and friends acted fast, called 911, started CPR, and saved his life.  He lacked normal oxygen flow to his brain for about 7-9 minutes which caused him to suffer anoxic brain injury.  He was rushed to UPMC Mercy where he spent nearl y 5 weeks in the ICU.  For the first 5 days we didn't know if we were going to get him back, but then he opened his eyes and a big sigh of relief...he is alive.  Now it was a matter of determining how much brain damage there was and if he would ever be able to walk, talk, eat, or even breath on his own.  Slowly he regained some functions and remembered who his family and friends were.  At the end of the 5 weeks he was off of all tubes, needles, and breathing machines; he was able to stand and walk a few steps (with assistance) but needed to have a pacemaker installed in his chest because a cause for the cardiac arrest could not be found.  
A.J. was then moved to the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) unit where he went through 4 weeks of intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy.  During these 4 weeks A.J. turned 21 and we had a celebration outside the hospital where about 30 of his close family and friends came to see him.  
He was released to come home on September 5th and requires 24 hour supervision, 2 days/week of outpatient therapy, and has to be cued to do normal everyday functions.  When asked, A.J. says that he is only 18 years old and thinks he just finished high school.  He remembers only bits and pieces of the past 3-4 years but his memory continues to grow stronger.  In the past 2 months of speech therapy he has gained 9 minutes of memory.  That means that if you tell him something, he can remember it for up to 9 minutes.  When he started therapy he had about 5 seconds of memory.  With continued therapy, it is possible for him to make a full recovery but this does come at a cost.  Your donations are accepted with our greatest appreciation and thanks to help cover A.J.'s medical costs.  Every little bit is helpful.  Thank you so much for your donation.