Please Help Joe to Recover.
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This is my son Joe. Before March 26th of 2018 he was a healthy, happy 38-year-old man who loved his fiancé, their pet dog, cats and birds, and was a very gifted artist. Unfortunately, he is now fighting two battles, one is to recover from brain surgery that turned out badly and the other to simply keep a roof over his head.
The Backstory
On March 26, 2018 Joe was admitted to the Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA for surgery to remove an arteriovenous malformation or (AVM) from the right side of his brain. The surgery did not go well. A few hours into the procedure the AVM ruptured and Joe lost four liters of blood! Miraculously his neurosurgeon and the team assisting him fought for 11 hours to stop the bleeding and with God's blessing they were able to save Joe’s life.
When Joe awoke from his induced coma two days later in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit he was unable to move the left side of his body. For three weeks his incredible team of neurosurgeons, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and Joe’s fiancé worked day and night on Joe’s rehabilitation. After much hard work he was able to be discharged to a rehabilitation hospital on April 14th. After another month of intensive therapy in the rehab hospital, Joe was discharged “wheelchair independent” to return home to his 2nd floor apartment.
Since returning home, Joe has been working extremely hard with his team of therapists from the VNA and has made great progress in gaining back some strength and use of his left arm and leg, although continuing intense dizzy spells have prevented him from making enough progress to use a walker to get around or go up or down the stairs unassisted. Because of this Joe’s fiancé has had to quit her job to stay home and care for him 24/7.
With only a modest social security disability payment coming in each month which doesn’t even cover their rent they have been relying on family to help financially. With another year to eighteen months of rehabilitation ahead of them and the uncertainty of how much he will be able to recover, their anxiety and financial stress is growing daily.
Joe has a lengthy road ahead of him in terms of therapy and extended care, and it is with no doubt that he will continue to amaze us all with his progress and determination to recover. He wants more than anything to be able to take his little “Roo” dog for walks and to start painting again.
"Portrait of Gabriel" by Joe Vellucci
How You Can Help
Joe and Ashley have a lot of things to deal with in the days to come and financial worry shouldn’t be one of them. Recovering from something like this is really hard. Your donations will be used to help pay Joe’s rent, utility bills, buy food, pay for his many prescriptions and have a home health aide assist them with some of their daily needs.
Any amount of support will help with his ongoing medical and living expenses and would be immensely appreciated by Joe and our family.
To help get the word out, please share Joe's story to your Facebook Timeline!
Thank you all for helping to give my son the chance to get his life back!
The Backstory
On March 26, 2018 Joe was admitted to the Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA for surgery to remove an arteriovenous malformation or (AVM) from the right side of his brain. The surgery did not go well. A few hours into the procedure the AVM ruptured and Joe lost four liters of blood! Miraculously his neurosurgeon and the team assisting him fought for 11 hours to stop the bleeding and with God's blessing they were able to save Joe’s life.
When Joe awoke from his induced coma two days later in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit he was unable to move the left side of his body. For three weeks his incredible team of neurosurgeons, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and Joe’s fiancé worked day and night on Joe’s rehabilitation. After much hard work he was able to be discharged to a rehabilitation hospital on April 14th. After another month of intensive therapy in the rehab hospital, Joe was discharged “wheelchair independent” to return home to his 2nd floor apartment.
Since returning home, Joe has been working extremely hard with his team of therapists from the VNA and has made great progress in gaining back some strength and use of his left arm and leg, although continuing intense dizzy spells have prevented him from making enough progress to use a walker to get around or go up or down the stairs unassisted. Because of this Joe’s fiancé has had to quit her job to stay home and care for him 24/7.
With only a modest social security disability payment coming in each month which doesn’t even cover their rent they have been relying on family to help financially. With another year to eighteen months of rehabilitation ahead of them and the uncertainty of how much he will be able to recover, their anxiety and financial stress is growing daily.
Joe has a lengthy road ahead of him in terms of therapy and extended care, and it is with no doubt that he will continue to amaze us all with his progress and determination to recover. He wants more than anything to be able to take his little “Roo” dog for walks and to start painting again.
"Portrait of Gabriel" by Joe VellucciHow You Can Help
Joe and Ashley have a lot of things to deal with in the days to come and financial worry shouldn’t be one of them. Recovering from something like this is really hard. Your donations will be used to help pay Joe’s rent, utility bills, buy food, pay for his many prescriptions and have a home health aide assist them with some of their daily needs.
Any amount of support will help with his ongoing medical and living expenses and would be immensely appreciated by Joe and our family.
To help get the word out, please share Joe's story to your Facebook Timeline!
Thank you all for helping to give my son the chance to get his life back!
Organizer
Ron Vellucci
Organizer
St. Augustine, FL
