Support for Therese Szymanski

Hi, I'm Stacia Seaman, and I'm asking you to help my partner of 17 years, Therese (Reese) Szymanski--writer, editor, gamer, and an honest-to-goodness miracle.

On the morning of July 13, I found Reese unconscious and unresponsive in our home. I started CPR and dialed 9-1-1. When EMS arrived, Reese was in full cardiac and respiratory arrest. She coded again that night in the ICU. The medical team was able to stabilize her, but she remained in the ICU, unconscious and on a ventilator, for 5 weeks. Because she was so heavily sedated, doctors were unable to tell me if she'd ever wake up, and if she did, what her condition would be, and what kind of future she might have. All they could tell me was that the likely cause of all of this was a bad reaction to an antibiotic. It was the longest 5 weeks of my life.

Incredibly, she regained consciousness in August, but she had ICU delirium--confusion, hallucinations, disconnection from reality. We knew she had brain damage (her brain was deprived of oxygen during the original cardiac arrest), but it was impossible to assess how much. Once out of the ICU, Reese spent an additional 6 weeks in the hospital. Her health insurance company blocked every attempt by her doctors to get appropriate specialized care for someone in her condition. Instead of allowing her transfer to a long-term acute care or injury rehab hospital, where she'd have a thorough assessment and therapy to help her improve, the insurance company forced her into a nursing home. At that time Reese was experiencing muscle spasms and tremors so severe that she was unable to stand or walk or even, at times, feed herself. She didn't always know who I was. She didn't always know who she was. By the end of September, Reese's outlook was bleak: I was told she'd probably spend the rest of her life in the memory care unit of a nursing home, with Alzheimer's and dementia patients.

That's when I'd had enough. The catastrophic nature of Reese's brain injury meant I could switch her insurance. This wasn't something I did lightly, as it meant there was no longer an out-of-pocket cap on her medical expenses. It took a lot of time and effort, but in late October, I got her transferred from the nursing home to an inpatient post-injury rehab hospital to begin intensive treatment--and the difference was astounding. After a week at the rehab hospital, Reese truly woke up. Her memories started to return. Her movement improved. For the first time in months, she knew who she was and where she was. And then finally, on November 9, after four months in the hospital, Reese was able to come home.

We've still got a very long road ahead of us. The muscle tremors & spasms make standing and walking difficult (and, at times, dangerous) for her, so I'm making changes to our home to accommodate this. She has significant cognitive impairment and needs help with a lot of things most of us do without even thinking about them: getting dressed, bathing, eating. She's also still delicate physically--she hadn't even been home 24 hours before we had to go to the ER because she was showing signs of an infection. She spent 2 nights there, getting IV antibiotics, before I was able to bring her home again. She's been home for a week now and she's doing great.

As you can imagine, Reese's medical bills are staggering, and she will need ongoing therapy and medical care. When Reese was in the hospital, I was by her side, every day, for 4 months, while also working full-time (as a freelance editor, if I don't work, I don't get paid). Our life going forward will be a big adjustment for sure, but she's worked hard to get here. Her recovery is nothing short of miraculous.

We are tremendously grateful for your support. Any help is greatly appreciated, whether it takes the form of a donation, or sharing this page via social media/text/email, or keeping Reese in your thoughts. Thank you.