#prayersforchristian
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First of all I want to thank every single one of you for your prayers, love, and support. The outpouring of love that my brother and my family have received during this difficult time is indescribable. The pictures you post of my brother, all of the comments of love, the texts, and the phone calls..thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
On November 2nd 2015, Christian drove himself to the emergency room for the very first time. Over the course of a week and a half he went back to that emergency room begging for help 7 times. Each time he visited the hospital they would give him some pain meds and send him on his way, telling him that he was suffering from post concussion symptoms. He knew all along that it was something different, he had never experienced such pain before. On his 7th ER visit they finally admitted him and did a spinal tap..results came back and he was diagnosed with viral meningitis. They gave him antibiotics for 2 1/2 days and sent him home. He was feeling good! Headaches were still coming and going, but that was to be expected. Some days the headaches forced him to stay in a dark room all day long, but on the days that he felt good he was off in the wilderness with his dogs. He loves being outdoors, such a lover of nature.
The night before Thanksgiving he texted me telling me he was feeling awesome and asked me if he should make the 15 1/2 hour drive home to surprise mom and dad for Thanksgiving. Ummmm duh! I was so excited knowing my brother was coming home, and he packed up his things and was on the road within an hour. He was coming home, and I couldn't wait to see him. You can only imagine what my parents felt when they saw him on FaceTime that next day, as he panned the front of our house showing them he was standing right outside the front door. It was an awesome day. But that joy didn't last very long, Friday Nov. 27 he was back in the emergency room...only this time he was in California and was going to receive great care from an awesome hospital. He was sent home once again, and he braved the pain the entire next day and night. Saturday night I could hear him crying, I could hear him screaming "no, no, no!" Sunday morning he was back in the emergency room, only this time he was admitted. CT scans revealed that he had an abscess in his brain, something that had apparently never shown up before. The early morning hours of Monday Nov 30th he began to decline very quickly. He couldn't speak, did not know who anyone was, he had to be restrained, he was just not okay. The pressure in his brain was rapidly increasing, so on Monday night they inserted a tube into his brain to try and relieve pressure. Pressure went down and we believed it was working, but on Tuesday he took a turn for the worse. His brain pressure levels need to be under 20, and within a matter of minutes the pressure sky rocketed to 85 and then he was placed into an induced coma. After many conversations with several neurosurgeons we knew we had to proceed with operating on his brain. Within an hour he was in the OR and they removed the entire left side of his skull to relieve pressure. Christian's entire brain was filled with puss, as well as his entire skull. All cultures have come back negative, doctors are completely puzzled as to what is causing this horrible infection.
Unfortunately, life still goes on outside of that hospital, and I am asking everyone for help. We are unable to bring in any sort of income at this time, my parents are at the hospital 15+ hours per day, and we are not sure how we will be able to cover our bills, groceries, and gas to and from the hospital.
I thank each and every one of you in advance, and will post updates via FB as often as possible. Thank you so much.
All our love,
The Licciardi family
On November 2nd 2015, Christian drove himself to the emergency room for the very first time. Over the course of a week and a half he went back to that emergency room begging for help 7 times. Each time he visited the hospital they would give him some pain meds and send him on his way, telling him that he was suffering from post concussion symptoms. He knew all along that it was something different, he had never experienced such pain before. On his 7th ER visit they finally admitted him and did a spinal tap..results came back and he was diagnosed with viral meningitis. They gave him antibiotics for 2 1/2 days and sent him home. He was feeling good! Headaches were still coming and going, but that was to be expected. Some days the headaches forced him to stay in a dark room all day long, but on the days that he felt good he was off in the wilderness with his dogs. He loves being outdoors, such a lover of nature.
The night before Thanksgiving he texted me telling me he was feeling awesome and asked me if he should make the 15 1/2 hour drive home to surprise mom and dad for Thanksgiving. Ummmm duh! I was so excited knowing my brother was coming home, and he packed up his things and was on the road within an hour. He was coming home, and I couldn't wait to see him. You can only imagine what my parents felt when they saw him on FaceTime that next day, as he panned the front of our house showing them he was standing right outside the front door. It was an awesome day. But that joy didn't last very long, Friday Nov. 27 he was back in the emergency room...only this time he was in California and was going to receive great care from an awesome hospital. He was sent home once again, and he braved the pain the entire next day and night. Saturday night I could hear him crying, I could hear him screaming "no, no, no!" Sunday morning he was back in the emergency room, only this time he was admitted. CT scans revealed that he had an abscess in his brain, something that had apparently never shown up before. The early morning hours of Monday Nov 30th he began to decline very quickly. He couldn't speak, did not know who anyone was, he had to be restrained, he was just not okay. The pressure in his brain was rapidly increasing, so on Monday night they inserted a tube into his brain to try and relieve pressure. Pressure went down and we believed it was working, but on Tuesday he took a turn for the worse. His brain pressure levels need to be under 20, and within a matter of minutes the pressure sky rocketed to 85 and then he was placed into an induced coma. After many conversations with several neurosurgeons we knew we had to proceed with operating on his brain. Within an hour he was in the OR and they removed the entire left side of his skull to relieve pressure. Christian's entire brain was filled with puss, as well as his entire skull. All cultures have come back negative, doctors are completely puzzled as to what is causing this horrible infection.
Unfortunately, life still goes on outside of that hospital, and I am asking everyone for help. We are unable to bring in any sort of income at this time, my parents are at the hospital 15+ hours per day, and we are not sure how we will be able to cover our bills, groceries, and gas to and from the hospital.
I thank each and every one of you in advance, and will post updates via FB as often as possible. Thank you so much.
All our love,
The Licciardi family
Organizer
Ally Licciardi
Organizer
Lake Elsinore, CA
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