Ladia & Katie Jerabek

When an unexpected phone call changes your life.......

On Monday, March 29th, Katie Jerabek, while at work, received a phone call from a social worker asking if she was of
relation to Ladia Jerabek. Ladia is Katie’s
husband of 12 years and the father to 11 year old twins Anna and Bella. While out on a leisurely bike ride Ladia suffered a
medical condition that resulted in him
being transported to the Trauma Unit at Lee Memorial Hospital. Katie was given
very little additional information from
the social worker other than to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Because
Ladia was still in the Trauma Unit, Katie
and both girls would be allowed to visit
with him.

Ladia was heavily sedated and had
already been intubated when her and the girls arrived at the hospital. A CT scan
had been done and showed a brain bleed in the lower left quadrant with swelling
on the brain. He was hooked up to
numerous machines and multiple IVs but his vitals appeared good. Praise God that there was no spinal cord injury and Ladia was able to move his arms and legs. The
neurologists only concern was the bleed and swelling on the brain and they would be monitoring both over night. The girls were sent home with much hope.

On Tuesday, Ladia was moved to the ICU, when Katie arrived for visitation
(because Anna and Bella are under the
age of 12 they will not be able to visit) he had already had another CT scan and a
feeding tube had been placed. The CT
scan showed no change in the bleed or
swelling over night and Ladia was still
heavily sedated. He was also strapped to the bed so he did not harm his treatment. For those of you who personally know
Ladia, he is a hard worker, very strong,
and never stops moving. To see him
hooked up to all of these machines and
restrained to the bed was very hard to
accept.

On Wednesday, the neurologist
attempted to “wake” Ladia up from
sedation. As the medicine flow
decreased Ladia’s eyes opened and his
arms and legs jerked in the restraints. He responded to pain and pressure that the doctor applied to his body but did not
respond to any commands the doctor
asked him to perform. At this time the
doctor told Katie that he was going to
put Ladia back under sedation. Another CT scan was ordered for Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, Katie had to apply
for Medicaid for Ladia. Being self
employed, and trying to recoup from last years covid effects, insurance wasn’t an
option this year. Angels come in all forms and today’s angel was the lady who filled out and completed all Ladia’s Medicaid
paperwork for Katie. At this time,
emergency Medicaid was denied but his application for regular Medicaid is
processing/pending.

Thursday went much the same as
Wednesday with neurology, but the good news of the day was Ladia received his
first sponge bath and a slight facial shave. Another CT scan was scheduled for late afternoon. Praying for positive results on Friday.

Friday comes and still no change. To
make the situation even more difficult
Katie hasn’t received any information
from yesterday’s CT scan. She’s spending hours everyday sitting in ICU with Ladia. Massaging his arms and legs, talking to
him and encouraging him to wake up,
praying over him, playing recorded
messages from the girls, and listening to music. She’s doing anything she can to
keep his brain alert while she’s in the
room with him.

Today is Saturday, and when Katie
walked into Ladia’s ICU room the nurse
said that early this morning Ladia woke
up on his own for a brief amount of time. He mumbled a few words and while still
restrained managed to pull his intubation tube out. Then he returned to a resting
state. This is good news because the
doctors decided to leave Ladia off the
ventilator because he was breathing on
his own without a struggle. They are also changing his pain medicine because the
current one can slow down his breathing and response times. Ladia did not fully
wake while Katie was visiting but a few
times she noticed some body responses when she was talking to him. The nurse
also explained that the last CT scan done on Thursday showed a decrease in brain swelling in three areas.

At this time, no prognosis has been given.Brain injuries don’t follow a timeline, and healing behaviors can change from day
to day.  

For those of you who have been asking
about how you can help, please pray for
the doctors who are treating Ladia, pray
for Ladia’s healing, and pray for strength for Katie , Anna, and Bella during this
difficult time.

This go fund me is being established for
those interested in financially assisting
the Jerabek family with what will be a
mountain of medical bills, any everyday
expenses that may occur going from a
two income family to a one income
household, and any future expenses
related to the on going care Ladia may
need.

Thank you for all of your kind words, and
compassion!