JACOBS ROAD TO RECOVERY FROM AVM RUPTURE

Hi guys, my name is Marissa. I am the mother of Jacob Verdugo. I am the one holding this campaign for my son and I. I'm a single mother of five kids, and Jacob is the second oldest. Jacob has always been my fighter; he was born prematurely at 27 weeks and weighed only three pounds. Jacob is 20 years old and will be turning 21 soon. Jacob has four brothers and one little sister; Jacob loves his family, especially his mom and two youngest siblings. Jacob loves being an older brother and has always helped me so much with the kids and everything. Jacob is a loving and caring person who always puts others before himself. Jacob is a hard worker, and he started his own mobile detailing with his other brother during quarantine, which was starting to take off. Jacob had always planned to join the marines his whole life and was in the middle of training and studying and about to test before this nightmare

On July 22, 2022, Jacobs and our lives were changed in a heartbeat. It was a normal Friday morning. Jacob woke up to get ready for work at seven in the morning; 30 minutes later he complained of a headache, then three minutes later he complained of the worst headache of his life. What we thought was a migraine was actually an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) that ruptured on the right side of his brain causing a bad brain bleed. Cerebral AVMs are rare and was something he was born with but we never knew about, and often go undetected until it ruptures. Jacobs ruptured and he became very tired and weak and then lethargic and was taken to Emergency. Thankfully they did a CT scan right away and saw the blood on his brain. They admitted him into ICU that night and scheduled him for an Angiogram the next morning so that they could see where the blood was coming from and try to fix it. But it wasn't visible because there was a blood clot right over the AVM. They said it was unsafe to do brain surgery at the time and that we would have to wait for the blood clot to clear up on its own, which could take weeks to months. Jacob quickly started to decline because his Inter cranial pressure (ICP) started to rise. They had to intubate him and put him on the ventilator for extra support. People thought he would be ok because he was young and healthy, but the doctor said that's actually what was killing him. He had a healthy brain that was taking up his whole skull so there was no room for the blood and swelling and now added fluid. The first procedure they tried was an External Ventricular Drain (EVD) which is a device to relieve elevated intracranial pressure. It only worked for a couple days until he stopped responding, and they had to do emergency surgery. He ended up having back-to-back brain surgeries which lasted over 4 hours. The first surgery consisted of a Craniotomy where they temporarily removed a piece of the skull. While they were in there they were able to see and remove the blood clot and AVM which was the original problem. He survived through the surgeries but then never woke back up. He was in a coma for about ten days and depended on the ventilator 100%. I sat by his bedside from 11am to 11pm waiting for him to wake up, I never wanted him to feel or think he was alone. The Doctors told me that his prognosis didnt look good and that I needed to start to prepare and that even if he did wake up I would have to think about what kind of quality of life he would live. But then the next day i came in and he was starting to slowly regain consciousness and was able to move his right hand, for days I had held his limp hand and now he was squeezing mine back. Each day he slowly but surely started to improve. First, it was his right side and then he started to use his left side, which they had said wouldn't work because the right side of his brain was damaged. After being intubated so long they had to switch it to a trache and also put a feeding tube in his stomach. The Doctors were amazed with his progress.

Jacob spent 26 days in the ICU and then was moved upstairs to a room that was a step above ICU because he no longer needed the one-on-one care. They ordered him a helmet so that he could start physical therapy. He needs to wear the helmet because of the craniotomy; they say they can keep the skull out for 6 months to a year. He was upstairs for only 3 days before he was transferred to a Rehabilitation Center where they will do more intense physical therapy. Jacob will need to relearn to do everything like walk, talk, eat, and every day things. He will continue his recovery process through speech, physical and occupational therapy. So much of the recovery process depends on Jacobs will, determination and heart. Hes already defied so many obstacles and surpassed what they thought he would be able to do. He will be at the rehab for one to two months and then will need outpatient care. I would like to start to prep the house and his room for his homecoming. I want to make him as comfortable as possible and the transition as smooth as possible for him. It will take 6 months to a year for him to fully recover. He has a long road ahead of him but im just thankful that he has a road to be on. I hesitated to make this Go fund me for so long because if you know me then you know im not one to ask for help. And if you know my sweet boy then you know he is very humble and would give you the shirt off of his back. I am the sole provider for my kids and had to take the first month off to be by his side as he was the most critical. This all happened so unexpectedly and has definitely taken its toll on my little family. So now I'm here asking for help so I can continue to be here for him and care for him as he deserves. My own responsibilities plus his now are more than I can handle alone. Plus medical and after care, things are adding up quickly. Any help is appreciated, even if you just share the link. I truly appreciate everyone's love, support and prayers. God is definitely working miracles in my boy. Thank You