Join Joe's Fight for Recovery
Donation protected
As many of you know, on March 30, 2016, Joe suffered a cardiac arrest while on his weekly bike ride with a friend. CPR was begun almost immediately, thanks to his friend, bystanders, and dozens of medical personnel. After spending 36 hours in an induced coma and many days in the ICU, Joe’s cardiac condition stabilized, but he was left with an anoxic brain injury (this falls under the category of “stroke”), caused by a lack of blood and oxygen flow to the brain during the cardiac arrest.
After six months of extensive therapy and rehab, we were once again faced with an almost identical cardiac event in October. This time, the brain injury was even more serious, and Joe has been left with memory loss and cognitive deficits. These include memory and executive functioning issues, in addition to the significant cardiac concerns that are continually being dealt with.
Joe is a husband, father, grandfather, business owner, avid bike rider, woodworker, and loyal fan to the Phillies and Eagles. He is no longer able to drive or work, nor is he able to enjoy his woodworking pastime, nor ride his beloved bike. However, Joe and Teresa are working hard to pursue living their lives, and to keep his recovery progressing forward.
Each week, Joe diligently works at ongoing Speech and Occupational Therapy, and travels to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania twice a month for an apheresis treatment to filter Lp (a) from his blood, an inherited risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Another avenue that is being pursued is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Stroke (HBOT). There has been evidence that this is helpful in brain injury recovery, even though there are no recent clinical studies. Because of this, medical insurance does not cover the treatments. Joe is going four to five days a week to HBOT at Oxygen Oasis in Langhorne. We feel that we are seeing a definite benefit to this treatment.
HBOT is a medical treatment administered by delivering 100% oxygen at pressures greater than two to three times normal sea level pressure to a patient in an enclosed chamber. Increased oxygen tension accelerates the healing process and aids in recovery for certain conditions. Recent data show that HBOT treatment can lead to significant improvement in brain function in post-stroke patients, helping to build new connections in damaged regions.
HBOT is extremely expensive, costing in excess of $7000 for the first 40 recommended sessions, plus the additional cost of transportation. After a break of six weeks, Joe will begin an additional 40 sessions.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a friend and a colleague to Teresa. Teresa and Joe have always been so good to their friends and family, and now is the time for us to be there for them.
This Go Fund Me page has been set up to pay for the HBOT which is not covered by insurance as well as the transportation from Oxygen Oasis in Langhorne. Anything that you can do to help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
After six months of extensive therapy and rehab, we were once again faced with an almost identical cardiac event in October. This time, the brain injury was even more serious, and Joe has been left with memory loss and cognitive deficits. These include memory and executive functioning issues, in addition to the significant cardiac concerns that are continually being dealt with.
Joe is a husband, father, grandfather, business owner, avid bike rider, woodworker, and loyal fan to the Phillies and Eagles. He is no longer able to drive or work, nor is he able to enjoy his woodworking pastime, nor ride his beloved bike. However, Joe and Teresa are working hard to pursue living their lives, and to keep his recovery progressing forward.
Each week, Joe diligently works at ongoing Speech and Occupational Therapy, and travels to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania twice a month for an apheresis treatment to filter Lp (a) from his blood, an inherited risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Another avenue that is being pursued is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Stroke (HBOT). There has been evidence that this is helpful in brain injury recovery, even though there are no recent clinical studies. Because of this, medical insurance does not cover the treatments. Joe is going four to five days a week to HBOT at Oxygen Oasis in Langhorne. We feel that we are seeing a definite benefit to this treatment.
HBOT is a medical treatment administered by delivering 100% oxygen at pressures greater than two to three times normal sea level pressure to a patient in an enclosed chamber. Increased oxygen tension accelerates the healing process and aids in recovery for certain conditions. Recent data show that HBOT treatment can lead to significant improvement in brain function in post-stroke patients, helping to build new connections in damaged regions.
HBOT is extremely expensive, costing in excess of $7000 for the first 40 recommended sessions, plus the additional cost of transportation. After a break of six weeks, Joe will begin an additional 40 sessions.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a friend and a colleague to Teresa. Teresa and Joe have always been so good to their friends and family, and now is the time for us to be there for them.
This Go Fund Me page has been set up to pay for the HBOT which is not covered by insurance as well as the transportation from Oxygen Oasis in Langhorne. Anything that you can do to help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Organizer and beneficiary
Marnie Scholl
Organizer
Lansdale, PA
Teresa Hagan
Beneficiary
