Friends of Rudy
Donation protected
Many of you know Rudy well, but a great number of you have probably never met him. That is why I posted a photo of him with his wife, Connie. Many of know Connie from The Workout Company or you are/were in a running group with her. Some of you are also her St.Gregory family. In late April, Connie, Rudy, and their daughter Elianna were out eating to celebrate Rudy getting a job. He had not been able to work for the previous two years because of an accident that occured while he was working. While at the restuarant that evening, Rudy choked on his food. Five different people tried to perform the Heimlich Maneuver with no success. He was without oxygen for four minutes or longer and suffered brain damange as a result. He has remained in a state of semi-coma. He has made very little progress. We are all praying and asking that you pray as well for the miracle Rudy needs to come through this. If you are able we are asking for monetary donations for Connie and Rudy. She will not be able to return to work in order to care for Rudy. There is no way to determine how long she will be out of work. His care needs will be continuous for a long period of time. His medical bills as of this moment are somewhere in the $500,000 range. She has applied for disabilty for him but nothing has come through yet. She will definitely need money to pay bills and buy the daily essentials as well as the things that insurance won't pay for like diabetes testing strips, special detergent for Elianna's sensitive skin, Glucerna, etc. You can choose to keep the amount you donate here anonymous. If you can't donate then please just leave a message letting her know that you are thinking of them and sending prayers. She needs as much support as possible right now. Please forward this on to anyone who might be in a position to help. Thank you all so very much.
Connie's Words explaining Rudy's Journey:
In 2002 Rudy was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer. He had a tracheotomy and feeding tube inserted. Before Rudy was diagnosed, we were trying to have a baby. As he was starting treatment for his cancer, the doctors told him he would be sterile after treatment and we should freeze some sperm if we ever hoped to have a chance of concieving. Rudy underwent 25 doses of chemotherapy and 93 doses of radiation during a 15 month period of time. Doctors told us that spots of cancer were on his lungs. At this point they sent us home for quality time, meaning they believed they had done all they could do. Rudy was down to 125 pounds and his skin was grey. Any more chemo would have killed him. His body was just worn out. We continued praying and standing on the word of God. Six months later during our annual fast, The Lord spoke to Rudy and told him to go back to the doctor for a scan. The scan came back cancer free. Praise God because Rudy had recieved his healing that we had claimed. Rudy continued to get stronger and went back to work in June of 2011. In June of 2011, we found out that my supposedly sterile husband had indeed gotten me pregnant. We now have a beautiful, amazing, intelligent, miracle baby named Elianna (means God has answered me). When I was 3.5 months pregnant, Rudy was severely electrocuted at work. We were told that, given the circumstances of the situation, he was very lucky to be alive. Rudy was in excrutiating pain from his injuries. He had both physical and psycological injuries. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We were told by the VA (Rudy is an Army Veteran) that he would never be off of the pain medications nor the anxiety medications, and he would live the rest of his life with PTSD. Eventually he found true deliverance from all of the things he was battling. He no longer felt dependent on those medications. God had delivered yet another miracle to us. After what seemed like forever, Rudy had gotten a new job. On April 21, 2014 we went to eat lunch to celebrate. I went to use the restroom and when I came back I found Rudy choking. I gave him the Heimlich Maneuver. Then several men in the restuarant came to help each giving Rudy the Heimlich. While waiting for 911 to arrive, this went on for approximately 5 minutes. Rudy finally looked at me and with his last breath said "I can't breathe" and then he coded. When they arrived, the EMT administered CPR and a shot of epinephrine to jump start his heart. Rudy was in a coma for about 6 weeks and is currently with Anoxic Brain Injury for oxygen deprivation. He had gone home and I was doing the work of an entire nursing staff for him. We are now back at the hospital because he was running fever and they want to check for any infections. We will be going back home in the next week or so (today is July 24, 2014). Rudy has a tracheotomy, feeding tube, he is not talking, sitting up, staying awake for longer than a few minutes, or walking at this time. We are believing in God for a 100 percent full recovery. I love you all very much and need your prayers more than you know right now.
Connie's Words explaining Rudy's Journey:
In 2002 Rudy was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer. He had a tracheotomy and feeding tube inserted. Before Rudy was diagnosed, we were trying to have a baby. As he was starting treatment for his cancer, the doctors told him he would be sterile after treatment and we should freeze some sperm if we ever hoped to have a chance of concieving. Rudy underwent 25 doses of chemotherapy and 93 doses of radiation during a 15 month period of time. Doctors told us that spots of cancer were on his lungs. At this point they sent us home for quality time, meaning they believed they had done all they could do. Rudy was down to 125 pounds and his skin was grey. Any more chemo would have killed him. His body was just worn out. We continued praying and standing on the word of God. Six months later during our annual fast, The Lord spoke to Rudy and told him to go back to the doctor for a scan. The scan came back cancer free. Praise God because Rudy had recieved his healing that we had claimed. Rudy continued to get stronger and went back to work in June of 2011. In June of 2011, we found out that my supposedly sterile husband had indeed gotten me pregnant. We now have a beautiful, amazing, intelligent, miracle baby named Elianna (means God has answered me). When I was 3.5 months pregnant, Rudy was severely electrocuted at work. We were told that, given the circumstances of the situation, he was very lucky to be alive. Rudy was in excrutiating pain from his injuries. He had both physical and psycological injuries. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We were told by the VA (Rudy is an Army Veteran) that he would never be off of the pain medications nor the anxiety medications, and he would live the rest of his life with PTSD. Eventually he found true deliverance from all of the things he was battling. He no longer felt dependent on those medications. God had delivered yet another miracle to us. After what seemed like forever, Rudy had gotten a new job. On April 21, 2014 we went to eat lunch to celebrate. I went to use the restroom and when I came back I found Rudy choking. I gave him the Heimlich Maneuver. Then several men in the restuarant came to help each giving Rudy the Heimlich. While waiting for 911 to arrive, this went on for approximately 5 minutes. Rudy finally looked at me and with his last breath said "I can't breathe" and then he coded. When they arrived, the EMT administered CPR and a shot of epinephrine to jump start his heart. Rudy was in a coma for about 6 weeks and is currently with Anoxic Brain Injury for oxygen deprivation. He had gone home and I was doing the work of an entire nursing staff for him. We are now back at the hospital because he was running fever and they want to check for any infections. We will be going back home in the next week or so (today is July 24, 2014). Rudy has a tracheotomy, feeding tube, he is not talking, sitting up, staying awake for longer than a few minutes, or walking at this time. We are believing in God for a 100 percent full recovery. I love you all very much and need your prayers more than you know right now.
Organizer
Dawn Pellegrin Oglesby
Organizer
Houma, LA
