Hello, my name is Ashley Miller. My brother-in-law Russ Poling, has been in and out of the hospital since March 4th for headaches and high fevers. After being put on an antibiotic, my sister, Amy, took him to the Emergency Room at Union General in Blairsville, GA, where he tested negative for everything. He was given fluids and sent home. A few days later, Russ woke up in the middle of the night confused, didn’t know where he was, shaky, and unable to follow basic commands. Amy took him back to the Emergency Room, where they performed a head CT, chest x-ray, and several labs. All results came back normal. They proceeded with a spinal tap to see where the infection was coming from – results came back as Bacterial Meningitis. While Union General was preparing to transfer him to Northeast Georgia Hospital, Russ had a seizure and had to be intubated and flown via medevac. Russ continued to have seizures and was placed on more medications, his body temperature, and heart rate below normal.

 

Since being taken off sedation Russ has not been able to move anything below mid-chest and is starting to have numbness/tingling in both hands. Russ is able to recognize his family but is having difficulty with his speech, slurring words, or being unable to say his thoughts.

 

With Northeast General unable to help anymore, Russ was transferred to Emory Midtown in Atlanta, Ga, in hopes to start getting answers for his medical mystery.

 

Russ has had multiple MRIs and CTs of the head, EEGs, Spinal Taps, and labs - all results coming back normal. Russ is having a lot of coordination issues with his arms and is feeling off-balance in bed. Emory is consulting with a neurosurgeon and infectious disease. His doctors have been running a marathon with this situation and they don't know at this time if or when Russ will be able to feel below mid-chest again.

 

Our family is confused about how such an otherwise healthy person has contracted this to this degree.

Amy is by his side every moment she can be. I know so many of you want to do something to help Russ, Amy, Shelby, and Kyle. I am hoping to raise money to help with medical expenses, hotel rooms for my sister, niece, and nephew while they are 2 hours from their home, gas expenses, and also living expenses as they deal with this. If you are able to assist in any way, it would truly be appreciated. Thank you so much for your continuing love and prayers.

 

The neighborhood children refer to Russ as Superman and we believe he is.