Love and Support for Jacques
Donation protected
On Feb 8, 2020, Jacques was SCUBA diving with a friend, and suffered a massive brain bleed. Luckily, he was about a mile from a trauma center and was able to be air lifted and taken to the hospital quickly. By the time he arrived at the trauma center, he was unresponsive and had to be put on a ventilator. A CT scan showed an intraparenchymal bleed in his right hemisphere measuring 8 x 6 x 3 cm. He was taken immediately to surgery and had a craniotomy to evacuate the massive bleed. The neurosurgeon told me that he most likely would not make it, and that I should prepare for that. I waited 2.5 hours after his surgery before I was able to finally see him in SICU (surgical ICU). I was devastated! He was in a coma and on a ventilator. For the next week, they tried to wean him off the vent, and there were many times his vitals were going crazy out of control (heart rate, respirations and blood pressure very high). He was finally weaned off the vent after 6 days. On day 7, he woke up and was able to say a few words! He knew who I was but had no idea what happened to him. His left side was totally paralyzed (hemiparesis), and he was not able to hold his head up. He stayed in ICU for a total of 3 weeks, then was transferred to an inpatient rehab center. He did daily PT/OT/SLP (physical, occupational therapy and speech language pathology). Besides his physical limitations, he also has cognitive issues (memory, focusing, impulse control, etc). He was very depressed as he was aware of his extreme limitations, but with all our friends and family cheering him on, he was able to continue. The last week of his inpatient therapy, the hospital stopped allowing visitors to stay with patients, due to Covid-19. That was devastating! He was able to communicate with me, family and friends, via FaceTime. On April 2nd, he was discharged home to my care. I had to take him 3 times a week to do his outpatient PT/OT/SLP. It was very difficult as I was his only caretaker and had to return to work. (I’m a RN on a Covid unit in a major hospital).
Jacques was able to make little steps towards progress, but then on May 1st, he had to be taken into the ER because of extreme chest pain. Turns out he had a PE (pulmonary embolism), pneumonia and DVTs (deep vein thrombosis). He stayed in the ICU for treatment for 2 weeks and then he was transferred back to the inpatient rehab center, to get back on track with his PT/OT/SLP. He was discharged back home on May 15, and since then, has been going to outpatient therapy. He has slowly (very slowly) been improving. Starting to have some movement in his left hand (his hand can open and close), and a little bit in his left leg. But he has so much more work to do. It’s already a miracle that he is still alive, and I am so grateful for that! Due to Covid-19, our family in Canada is not able to come and visit and help me take care of him. He has not been able to visit with our close friends (just via video). I am his only caretaker and cheerleader.
As you can imagine, finances have been very difficult during this time. Jacques has no income since February and I am the only one working. There are a lot of extra costs of weekly medical supplies, co-payments and deductibles. I’m able to pay our regular monthly bills, but all the medical costs are becoming overwhelming. We have applied for disability, but it takes months before we find out if he is approved and how much he will receive, if he is approved. We would like to purchase an electric wheelchair, so Jacques can be more independent. It’s the kind that is lightweight and foldable, so I can put it in the car when we go out. We would also be able to use it on a plane for when we are finally able to go home and see our family in Canada. Unfortunately, insurance won’t pay for that kind of electric wheelchair. We’d also like help with all his current and ongoing medical costs.
Jacques has a long road of recovery ahead. Some days he just wants to give up. But I keep pushing him. We don’t know what the future holds… but for now, we are trying to remain positive.
Jacques was able to make little steps towards progress, but then on May 1st, he had to be taken into the ER because of extreme chest pain. Turns out he had a PE (pulmonary embolism), pneumonia and DVTs (deep vein thrombosis). He stayed in the ICU for treatment for 2 weeks and then he was transferred back to the inpatient rehab center, to get back on track with his PT/OT/SLP. He was discharged back home on May 15, and since then, has been going to outpatient therapy. He has slowly (very slowly) been improving. Starting to have some movement in his left hand (his hand can open and close), and a little bit in his left leg. But he has so much more work to do. It’s already a miracle that he is still alive, and I am so grateful for that! Due to Covid-19, our family in Canada is not able to come and visit and help me take care of him. He has not been able to visit with our close friends (just via video). I am his only caretaker and cheerleader.
As you can imagine, finances have been very difficult during this time. Jacques has no income since February and I am the only one working. There are a lot of extra costs of weekly medical supplies, co-payments and deductibles. I’m able to pay our regular monthly bills, but all the medical costs are becoming overwhelming. We have applied for disability, but it takes months before we find out if he is approved and how much he will receive, if he is approved. We would like to purchase an electric wheelchair, so Jacques can be more independent. It’s the kind that is lightweight and foldable, so I can put it in the car when we go out. We would also be able to use it on a plane for when we are finally able to go home and see our family in Canada. Unfortunately, insurance won’t pay for that kind of electric wheelchair. We’d also like help with all his current and ongoing medical costs.
Jacques has a long road of recovery ahead. Some days he just wants to give up. But I keep pushing him. We don’t know what the future holds… but for now, we are trying to remain positive.
Organizer
Marguerite Wotoczek-Obadia
Organizer
Wesley Chapel, FL