Zena's Road to Recovery (anoxic brain injury)
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We (i.e. Joni, Zena's mom; Mona, Zena's sister; and Amy, Zena's Aunt) are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Chris and Zena Edgar. Below, Chris shares their story in his own words.
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On March 20, 2020, Zena had an unthinkable accident. After nursing our eight-month-old son, Ansel, and putting him to bed, she fed herself, and choked while eating. Thankfully, I was home while this happened, but a horrific domino effect followed. I called 911, and after failed attempts at the heimlich maneuver, Zena passed out and I was directed to attempt CPR. When the first responders arrived, creating an airway was unsuccessful. She aspirated, had a double cardiac arrest, and was without oxygen for a significant period of time. She was rushed to the ICU and put on life support.
Zena was in a coma for nearly two weeks. She was in a vegetative state for another two, and her prognosis was very grim. Our personal crisis had collided with the global crisis of COVID-19, and we could not visit her. Zena was alone in the hospital for over a month.
When she was discharged, we brought her home and continued her care with the anticipation of transitioning to home hospice at the end of a month. At that time, she was in a minimally conscious state, confined to a hospital bed with a tracheostomy tube to help her breathe and a feeding tube to provide her nutrition. Within weeks of being at home, her progress exceeded the expectations of nearly every doctor we had spoken with. She started mouthing words and sentences. Eventually, she was able to attempt to speak through a valve placed over her tracheostomy tube.
After several weeks of homecare, with an Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapist coming to the house once a week, Zena showed enough progress to qualify for inpatient rehab at the West Florida Rehabilitation Institute. She stayed in the brain injury unit for six weeks. During her time there, Zena had her tracheostomy removed, and participated in multiple therapies a day. These therapies were focused on the initial steps of helping her relearn speech, mobility, and performing daily life activities. The feeding tube remained but she began to start eating soft foods again. She took her first steps with the help of her physical therapist and assistive walking devices. By the time she was discharged in late July she had made significant improvements. Her speech and mobility were slowly returning. However, we learned that her short-term memory, and vision are significantly impaired.
Zena has been working hard at home for five months now. She can stand and walk short distances with a person on each side for balance. Her communication skills are improving. Her long-term memory is strong. Through vision rehabilitation therapy, her sight is in a constant state of change as she learns to compensate for her vision impairment. Zena tells jokes. She asks questions. Her questions are always about how other people are doing. She’s as compassionate as ever.
Zena has made big strides and she’ll make more. Here’s where we are now:
We are three months away from the one-year anniversary of the accident. We have been told that for people with anoxic brain injuries, the long-term outcome becomes clear around that one-year mark. We want Zena to have the best chance for recovery she can have.
We have an aggressive therapy plan for the next three months, but her need for therapy will be long term as she continues to work toward her independence. Zena will be returning to West Florida Rehab. This time for outpatient therapy. She will need physical, speech, and occupational therapies. (Perhaps the therapy that is not self-explanatory is occupational therapy. The goal of occupational therapy is to strengthen Zena’s abilities to perform the activities of daily life. She is relearning how to brush her teeth, how to feed herself, how to bathe, and do other daily activities independently.) Additionally, Zena will continue with vision rehabilitation, and neuro-psychology.
Our goal is to raise $24,500 in the first quarter of 2021 for Zena’s Road to Recovery.
● Help Zena learn to walk and increase her mobility. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of physical therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena learn to gain more daily independence. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of occupational therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her oral communication skills. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of speech therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her vision. Your donation of $110 will pay for a day of vision therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her cognition. Your donation of $100 will pay for a day of neuro-psychology for Zena.
● Your donation of $20 will contribute to an hour of help provided by a home health aide to assist Zena on her Road to Recovery.
We are grateful for donations of any size and appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
We understand these are trying times. That is not lost on us. The challenges this year have been extraordinary. During the many moments when those challenges felt insurmountable, we repeated our family’s new maxim. “Do the next right thing.” Coming forward with our need is our next right thing. Thank you for engaging with our story.
ZENA STANDING WITH HER THERAPISTS AT WEST FLORIDA REHAB!
****
On March 20, 2020, Zena had an unthinkable accident. After nursing our eight-month-old son, Ansel, and putting him to bed, she fed herself, and choked while eating. Thankfully, I was home while this happened, but a horrific domino effect followed. I called 911, and after failed attempts at the heimlich maneuver, Zena passed out and I was directed to attempt CPR. When the first responders arrived, creating an airway was unsuccessful. She aspirated, had a double cardiac arrest, and was without oxygen for a significant period of time. She was rushed to the ICU and put on life support.
Zena was in a coma for nearly two weeks. She was in a vegetative state for another two, and her prognosis was very grim. Our personal crisis had collided with the global crisis of COVID-19, and we could not visit her. Zena was alone in the hospital for over a month.
When she was discharged, we brought her home and continued her care with the anticipation of transitioning to home hospice at the end of a month. At that time, she was in a minimally conscious state, confined to a hospital bed with a tracheostomy tube to help her breathe and a feeding tube to provide her nutrition. Within weeks of being at home, her progress exceeded the expectations of nearly every doctor we had spoken with. She started mouthing words and sentences. Eventually, she was able to attempt to speak through a valve placed over her tracheostomy tube.
After several weeks of homecare, with an Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapist coming to the house once a week, Zena showed enough progress to qualify for inpatient rehab at the West Florida Rehabilitation Institute. She stayed in the brain injury unit for six weeks. During her time there, Zena had her tracheostomy removed, and participated in multiple therapies a day. These therapies were focused on the initial steps of helping her relearn speech, mobility, and performing daily life activities. The feeding tube remained but she began to start eating soft foods again. She took her first steps with the help of her physical therapist and assistive walking devices. By the time she was discharged in late July she had made significant improvements. Her speech and mobility were slowly returning. However, we learned that her short-term memory, and vision are significantly impaired.
Zena has been working hard at home for five months now. She can stand and walk short distances with a person on each side for balance. Her communication skills are improving. Her long-term memory is strong. Through vision rehabilitation therapy, her sight is in a constant state of change as she learns to compensate for her vision impairment. Zena tells jokes. She asks questions. Her questions are always about how other people are doing. She’s as compassionate as ever.
Zena has made big strides and she’ll make more. Here’s where we are now:
We are three months away from the one-year anniversary of the accident. We have been told that for people with anoxic brain injuries, the long-term outcome becomes clear around that one-year mark. We want Zena to have the best chance for recovery she can have.
We have an aggressive therapy plan for the next three months, but her need for therapy will be long term as she continues to work toward her independence. Zena will be returning to West Florida Rehab. This time for outpatient therapy. She will need physical, speech, and occupational therapies. (Perhaps the therapy that is not self-explanatory is occupational therapy. The goal of occupational therapy is to strengthen Zena’s abilities to perform the activities of daily life. She is relearning how to brush her teeth, how to feed herself, how to bathe, and do other daily activities independently.) Additionally, Zena will continue with vision rehabilitation, and neuro-psychology.
Our goal is to raise $24,500 in the first quarter of 2021 for Zena’s Road to Recovery.
● Help Zena learn to walk and increase her mobility. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of physical therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena learn to gain more daily independence. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of occupational therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her oral communication skills. Your donation of $135 will pay for a day of speech therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her vision. Your donation of $110 will pay for a day of vision therapy for Zena.
● Help Zena improve her cognition. Your donation of $100 will pay for a day of neuro-psychology for Zena.
● Your donation of $20 will contribute to an hour of help provided by a home health aide to assist Zena on her Road to Recovery.
We are grateful for donations of any size and appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
We understand these are trying times. That is not lost on us. The challenges this year have been extraordinary. During the many moments when those challenges felt insurmountable, we repeated our family’s new maxim. “Do the next right thing.” Coming forward with our need is our next right thing. Thank you for engaging with our story.
ZENA STANDING WITH HER THERAPISTS AT WEST FLORIDA REHAB!
Co-organizers (3)
Amy B Parker
Organizer
Starke, FL
Chris Edgar
Beneficiary
Joni Pirnot
Co-organizer
Mona Pirnot
Co-organizer