Please help us support Alex, our miracle!

As many of you know, my 25 year-old

cousin Alex Santaluce was rushed to

Credit Valley hospital on the 6th of

May, and placed on a Life Support

system, exhibiting very little brain

activity.

To the shock and dismay of Alex’s

mother – my aunt Donya – his 7 year-

old sister Charlotte, and our entire

family, the doctor’s prognosis was that Alex would never wake up, never open his eyes, and never speak again…

remaining hospitalized in vegetative

state forever, if he were to survive at

all.

In spite of this catastrophic outlook, my family has maintained hope… and

welcomed your love, support and

prayers for Alex during this difficult

time….

Through this unending hope and your

persistent prayers, and against all odds – we’ve seen a miracle….

Alex is that miracle!

Overcoming pneumonia and chest

infections while fully intubated in the

ICU, Alex has shown us that he wants

to live! He’s shown that he’s a fighter… capable of reclaiming a life worth

living!

To all our surprise, Alex began to open his eyes…

With Donya’s daily visits, and her never-ending support and devotion to being at her son’s side, she was able to teach him to how to respond to yes-or-no

questions through facial expressions.

Over the weeks, with Alex’s newly

learned method of communicating,

Donya was able to better understand

Alex’s immediate needs, and then

orchestrate support for those needs

through the health care team as his

dedicated patient advocate.

More miracles.... more challenges.

On June 9th Alex began to speak

briefly, but ongoing and excruciating

pain from cardiac-induced muscle

spasms are preventing further progress in this regard. 

He proved the doctors wrong, and he moved into the right track for

recovery… only to hit another setback, and another challenge he must

overcome.

As a result of his heart attack, Alex

continues to suffer from these body

spasms… critically affecting his chest,

arms, and feet – and resulting in Alex’s return to the ICU for the administration of stronger pain medication.

The spasms have caused his feet and

his hands to seize up completely –

driving the immediate need for

specialized splints and braces to

prevent the permanent disfigurement

and life-altering debilitation of these

limbs.

Doctors haven’t seen this before….

Numerous specialists have been

brought in to assess Alex’s condition,

with the goal of getting these spasms

under control… and then transferring

him to a rehabilitation facility in

Hamilton for a lengthy in-patient stay.

There’s a long journey ahead… months if not years.

Unfortunately Alex has long road

ahead… His brain is functioning but

he’s lost significant motor function and will need to learn to walk, eat, and use his motor skills all over again. He’ll

require numerous treatments and

therapies, and due to the extent of the brain injury, his full recovery potential

is still unknown.

At Alex’s side every day, my aunt

Donya has only been able to return to work on a limited basis, covering a just a few shifts a week, while juggling the needs of his 7 year-old sister Charlotte at home…

OHIP will only cover the cost of his

stay in the rehab facility, and Donya

does not have medical insurance or

benefits to pay for the many therapies and assistive medical devices etc. that he needs on his path to recovery. 

Alex is a resilient young man, and we

are confident he will recover… He’s

shown us over the last 2 months that

he’s a strong fighter with the fortitude

to put everything he has into his

recovery.

Please help me give him that chance… the chance to have all his required

treatments, therapies, and the

rehabilitation required to help him

reach his full recovery potential and

ultimately live a full life.

Any size donation would be

appreciated – to help my aunt Donya

support my cousin through this difficult journey by mitigating the

overwhelming cost of those therapies, the specialized braces, and the many

assistive medical devices Alex will

need.

This site is full of worthy causes, but I

plead with you to help Alex, and help

this miracle be fully realized. He’s

young and deserves the chance for a

life outside of a hospital bed… I want to help him and his mom, who continues

to be by his side supporting him,

praying for more miracles.

On behalf of Donya and Alex and the

family, I want to thank everyone for you continued love, support, and prayers…