Beautiful, darling Joe, beloved, son to his Dad and me, brother to Natalie, and sheer joy to all of his Caregivers & Teachers, was suddenly taken from our earthly world without warning.

A massive, breakthrough seizure took hold of Joe during his sleep in the early morning hours last Friday, February 18. He stopped breathing. I frantically called 911 and the Emergency Operator counted in the rhythm needed to aid my CPR efforts until the ambulance arrived, at least five minutes, maybe longer.

Emergency personnel took over with an automatic "Lucas" CPR machine. I watched in horror as the machine operated, breaking Joe's ribs to get home to his heart. He was not resuscitated after five minutes and they transferred him to the ambulance, continuing their efforts enroute to Riverside Doctor's Hospital in Williamsburg. There, they succeeded in getting Joe's heart back and after a cat scan, transferred him to their larger sister hospital in Newport News, Riverside Regional Medical Center.

The Doctor there reported that Joe's heart was only functioning at 15% and that he was in very critical condition.

By Day 2, Joe's blood pressure dropped precipitously and the Doctor feared organ failure. Testing pointed at brain death and his passing was imminent; the team prepared us for the inevitable. Several new blood pressure medications stabilized Joe's heart but his body only continued to function on Life Support.

 

The Doctor's Team tried to complete a formal assessment of Joe's brain function but could not finish the final step without risking heart failure.

Therefore, the Doctor requested a nuclear medic"profusion" the next day, an injection of special liquid used to definitively check blood flow to the brain.

 

The "profusion" was set for the following morning, Day 3, but had to be postponed due to the lack of a Sunday pharmacist, needed to mix the special liquid.

 

Day 3 ended up being a quiet day spent in reflection, speaking with loving visitors, and culminated with a priest giving Last Rites at the Dad's request. It was touching and beautiful. We followed up with prayer and song amidst our tears.

 

As I write this, it's 4am, Day 4, Monday, February 21, 2022, President's Day holiday. There will be no escaping the profusion today and the weight of its finality.

 

My son is an organ donor. Following an official Time of Death, the hospital will relinquish authority of Joe's care to the Organ Donor team. We will know eventually, how many people my sweet son's Life will have saved or benefitted.

Cremation will follow a few days later. I agonized over this decision.

 

Friends have volunteered to help find a UU congregation in or near Williamsburg, VA, where their Minister can perform a Memorial Service.

 

I've been in shock and am now realizing that I will soon need to meet certain expenses. In this, I am wholly unprepared, and therefore, an humbly reaching out for assistance.   Joe's care was costing me over $100 per day using private Care because of delays in setting up services with a new Medicaid Agency and getting their Caregivers trained and ready to begin.

Please help with however much you can donate. No dollar amount would be considered too small; every little bit counts.

 

Thank you for reading, for doing whatever is possible.

 

Gratefully,

Debbie Danielson Corbo

 

https://youtu.be/fy1LG1X3evA