Save Stier Family-Harder to Breathe 4 Steve

Hi, my name is Lisa and I am Steve’s wife. On Thursday morning, March 23rd, 2023, my two sons (12 and 8 years old) and I tried to wake Steve up for work. He just started a new job on Monday, so we wanted to make sure he was not late since he didn’t get wakened up by the alarm clock. We heard him breathing and snoring so we did not anticipate the story that’s about to unfold.

After a few minutes of no success in waking him, I told the boys to be on the look out for the ambulance because I was calling 911. The EMT finally got him awake a little bit and they scurried Steve off to St. Luke’s Hospital. As I was getting myself and the boys ready to meet Steve at the hospital, the ER doctor told me that Steve is in critical condition and he will be transferred to the ICU. The doctor said he had acute kidney failure, low blood pressure, extremely low core body temperature and his gas levels are not normal. We later learned that they had to revive Steve once in the ambulance and once in the ER.

On the first day in ICU, they discovered Steve has pneumonia. Since his kidneys were failing and his oxygen levels were so low, they decided to put him on a breathing tube and dialysis for 3 days in hopes this would flush out his system.

The next day, Friday, March 24th, things seemed to be getting better, his kidneys were improving faster than expected and they took him off of dialysis. The main concern now was his pneumonia and his oxygen levels. He remained on the breathing tube because he was still not strong enough to breathe on his own and they had no real answers on why this happened.

On Saturday, March 25th, they removed the breathing tube but he still needed the bi-pap machine and the nose cannula (which he still needs to this day). He is on the highest amount of oxygen these machines can output so if things don’t improve there is a chance he may go back on the breathing tube. The first antibiotic they gave him on Thursday for the pneumonia did not help whatsoever so they changed him to a new medication. They are now worried about his stomach being extended and bile coming out of his stomach.

On Sunday, March 26th, his kidney levels were back to normal, so we no longer had to worry about that. However, his pneumonia and oxygen levels are not improving at all. He was able to take some oral pills and drink a few sips of water which was great, but every time he did that, his oxygen levels would tank.

On Monday, March 27th, still no change in pneumonia or oxygen levels. They did have to put in a Nasogastric tube to remove the gunk from his esophagus because Steve was complaining of his stomach hurting and he was throwing up.

On Tuesday, March 28th, they now discovered he has a blood clot in one of his lungs. Decision there was to either do a surgery to try and remove the clot or put him on a pill for 3 to 6 months. As of right now, they decided on the pill.

On Wednesday, March 29th and Thursday, March 30th, an infectious disease doctor has now been called to his case. This doctor said that Steve’s pneumonia is really bad and they need to figure out what strain he has. They started him on a new type of pneumonia medicine (Zosyn) which is used for very sick people with a serious infection. He also thinks that something else has to be going on besides his pneumonia for his oxygen levels to be this low and not getting any better. He is first looking at his heart and ordered an Echo.

On Friday March 31st, we learned that Steve’s echo came back normal, which is good, but back to the drawing board on why his oxygen levels won’t increase. I learned that on Thursday night, Steve kept getting bad nose bleeds so he no longer can use the bi-pap machine and can now only use the nose cannula and an oxygen mask, but it this does not help, he may have to go back to the breathing tube. I received a phone call from the pulmonologist asking me to to explain his breathing habits at home and if he is a snorer, etc…. Since Steve is in a tremendous amount of chest pain and they can not get an antibiotic to work fast enough, the Pulmonologist has to decide if they are going to do a Bronchoscopy to clean his lungs.

This is just a little background of what has been happening. We have no idea when he is going to get out of here and with him starting a new job, he does not have any short or long term disability. I am not one one likes to ask for help, but I know the medical bills will be coming in and our living expenses are going to be falling behind because my income won’t cover all the bills (rent, car payments, insurance, utilities, groceries, etc….). I’m unable to look for a part time job because I don’t have anyone to look after the boys at night time unless i can find a part-time job doing accounting/bookkeeping remotely from home on nights and weekends. Any leads to a remote accounting/bookkeeping job and any help in making a donation to help cover the costs that are starting in incur would be greatly appreciated.

What I have learned from this past week, is that tomorrow is never promised and to make sure you talk to your children everyday and remind them on how much you love them. My youngest son, Dominik, is shy like me and trying to get him to open up is extremely hard, but every day is getting a little bit easier since I’m reminding him on how much he is loved, how brave he is during this challenging time and no matter how he feels, there is a not a correct or incorrect way. As for my eldest son, Devonn, he has always been precocious. He is handling this situation very maturely. I could not be more proud of the ways by boys have been behaving in this time of turmoil.

Thank you,

Lisa Stier