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We are organizing this appeal to give some updates on our good friend, (and Kristin’s brother-in-law), Rich Parkes as well as to give an outlet for all of those that have asked how they can help Rich, Julie and their children. Any amount that you can donate to this campaign will help them to defray any unforeseen expenses that will occur as Rich continues his care at Spaulding Rehab and eventually transitions to life back at home with his family.
Rich’s Story:
On June 15th, Rich became ill unexpectedly and was taken to the emergency room. While being evaluated in the ER and treated for what was initially thought to be dehydration, Rich had a seizure and went in to cardiac arrest. He was placed in the ICU at Miriam Hospital where he was sedated and intubated for 8 days. The ICU doctors quickly discovered that Rich had pancreatitis which likely caused him to go into septic shock and resulted in cardiac arrest and multi organ failure. Rich spent 3 weeks in the ICU, starting at Miriam Hospital, then moving to RI Hospital. Slowly all of his organs started to recover one by one and he was taken off the ventilator on day 13. Rich spent 10 weeks in the hospital continuing his care and was finally discharged on August 26th once he was medically stable and ready to move on to the rehabilitation stage of his recovery at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston. Rich is now receiving daily physical, occupational and speech therapy at Spaulding as he relearns to walk, talk and do everyday things.
Although there have been positive steps forward, Rich has also faced some additional challenges. As Rich became more alert at Spaulding, they started to see issues with his vision and some behaviors and responses. The doctors believe Rich may be showing signs of his frontal and occipital lobes of the brain being compromised in some way from the trauma he experienced due to loss of oxygen/blood flow. Rich is currently under the care of various neuro specialists from Spaulding and Mass General to help diagnose what is happening and explore treatments / therapies that can help.
Surrounded by so much love and support, Julie has remained positive and hopeful that with the best care Rich will have the chance for a full recovery and be able to return home soon. However, as you can imagine this has been and will continue to be a long road for Rich & Julie and their children.
We thank you all and please continue to keep the Parkes family in your prayers,
Dan & Laura Stevenson
Tim & Katie Caggiano
Kristin Berrios
Rich’s Story:
On June 15th, Rich became ill unexpectedly and was taken to the emergency room. While being evaluated in the ER and treated for what was initially thought to be dehydration, Rich had a seizure and went in to cardiac arrest. He was placed in the ICU at Miriam Hospital where he was sedated and intubated for 8 days. The ICU doctors quickly discovered that Rich had pancreatitis which likely caused him to go into septic shock and resulted in cardiac arrest and multi organ failure. Rich spent 3 weeks in the ICU, starting at Miriam Hospital, then moving to RI Hospital. Slowly all of his organs started to recover one by one and he was taken off the ventilator on day 13. Rich spent 10 weeks in the hospital continuing his care and was finally discharged on August 26th once he was medically stable and ready to move on to the rehabilitation stage of his recovery at Spaulding Rehabilitation in Boston. Rich is now receiving daily physical, occupational and speech therapy at Spaulding as he relearns to walk, talk and do everyday things.
Although there have been positive steps forward, Rich has also faced some additional challenges. As Rich became more alert at Spaulding, they started to see issues with his vision and some behaviors and responses. The doctors believe Rich may be showing signs of his frontal and occipital lobes of the brain being compromised in some way from the trauma he experienced due to loss of oxygen/blood flow. Rich is currently under the care of various neuro specialists from Spaulding and Mass General to help diagnose what is happening and explore treatments / therapies that can help.
Surrounded by so much love and support, Julie has remained positive and hopeful that with the best care Rich will have the chance for a full recovery and be able to return home soon. However, as you can imagine this has been and will continue to be a long road for Rich & Julie and their children.
We thank you all and please continue to keep the Parkes family in your prayers,
Dan & Laura Stevenson
Tim & Katie Caggiano
Kristin Berrios