Support Joe Rocco's Fight for Life

On Wednesday January 8th, 2025 Joe Rocco began to feel ill. By that night he and his wife, Juliette Rocco, thought it must be a bug going around. However, on Thursday January 9th, 2025 Joe became septic and his organs started failing, landing him in the ICU in critical condition. He is currently there fighting for his life.

The origin of his illness is still unknown and unfortunately on Sunday January 12th, 2025 his care team made the difficult decision to place him on a ventilator. Juliette is currently traveling between the ICU and their home to take care of their two month old baby girl daily. Thankfully, Joe has shown small signs of improvement the past few days after a steady decline the week prior. Although the process has been touch and go, his family remains optimistic that their care team can attempt to get him off of the ventilator and awake soon.

We are graciously asking for donations to support their family during this difficult time. All proceeds will go to travel, meals, medical and living expenses for the Rocco family. Anything helps, as Juliette is currently caring for their daughter full time and is unable to work, and Joe will have a long recovery ahead of him.

Update as of January 19th, 2025:

Joe remains sedated on a ventilator but is fighting very hard to recover! His care team gave him a brief break of sedation and he was able to follow basic commands. Although the cause of his sudden illness remains a mystery his bloodwork has been slowly showing signs of improvement every day. His lung function is also getting better and each day the ventilator is briefly turned off so he can practice breathing, which he is doing well.

While nothing is guaranteed, his team is hoping to be able to wean him fully off of the ventilator by the end of this upcoming week. While we still don’t know what caused the infection, we are so grateful to see that the antibiotics, rounds of dialysis, and ventilator seem to be working to heal him. Joe has been defying all odds and has been referred to as the hospital’s miracle patient.

Juliette is incredibly grateful for all of your generosity which has allowed her to focus this time on Joe and their daughter. Please continue to keep Joe in your prayers.

January 27th, 2025:

It is with great joy we announce that Joe is awake and off of ventilation! Although the road to recovery may come with challenges, his family is overjoyed by his miraculous progress already. The Rocco family is taking this time to reconnect as a family while Joe heals. They thank each and every one of you for the overwhelming love and support the past two weeks.

February 10th, 2025:

“After a terrifying month in the hospital, Joe is home! He still has a long road ahead of him full of uncertainty, dialysis, toe/possibly feet amputations, and more, but he is continuing to improve every single day! He is relearning everything - how to walk/eat/function- and impressing everyone with his determination. Joe is strong and will overcome any obstacle in his way. We are deeply grateful for the support surrounding us. We cannot say thank you enough for your monetary donations, food delivery, help with Raina and our pups, prayers, positive thoughts, check ins, and unconditional love. We will keep you updated as Joe progresses and thank you all again! ❤️”

-Juliette Rocco

February 20th, 2025:

“Last Friday Joe returned to the hospital for a variety of pretty scary symptoms that ended up being his thyroid having some serious issues that we are treating with medication and he is thankfully recovering beautifully. Due to his previous sepsis, he developed gangrene in his toes and had to have them amputated as well as parts of his feet. It will be months before he is able to begin relearning how to walk, but he is handling it all with the most positive attitude a person could possibly have. I am still spending my days back and forth between the hospital with Joe and home with Raina and am so grateful for everyone who has made it possible for me to care for them both. We want to again say thank you all so much for all of the love and support and we will continue to keep you posted on Joe’s journey.”

-Juliette Rocco