Life Changing Experience
...icking on the right path. They do not want to hear that their grandson or granddaughter may be doing drugs, drinking, or hanging out with the wrong crowd. We’ve all had to go through the growing pains, it’s hard to stay good, and Joe subjected to staying out all hours of the night and sadly to say, driving home some nights under the influence of alcohol. I guess we all sometimes like to think, “it could never happen to me.” On June 13th, 2002, it happened. Joe was brought into County Hospital emergency room by ambulance late into the night. He was found on the side of the road bleeding and unconscious. It was clear that he had severe head trauma and a lot of fractured bones. Due to no neuro surgeons in the valley, he had to be sent to a bigger hospital. He couldn’t be lifelighted so he had to be taken in the ambulance. Time was definitely of the essence. Since I work at the hospital, I asked the team on call that night to tell me what they thought. The nurse anesthetist and the anesthesiologist looked at me and said, “There was an extreme amount of alcohol on board; he was a sure sign of death, I’m sorry Jane” Before departing to the more advanced hospital, he had a breathing tube inserted and was induced into a coma. Our hope of ever getting Joe back was nil to none. He layed lifeless in a coma at the neuro icu for 87 days. The doctor’s looked my aunt and uncle straight into the eyes and told them, “it doesn’t look good. All we can do is pray.” We spent endless nights praying, holding on to every last hope. I have never felt more pain in my life until I walked into the hospital room and saw Joe hooked up to all those tubes and wires. On the 88th day, the good news came, Joe was awake and coherent. It was a long road to recovery. He had no health insurance and the bills were definitely piling up. We had a huge benefit for him and raised a massive amount of money. He was released from the hospital for one day so he could attend. When he pulled up in the car, and was able to walk with his walker to his seat, the whole place grew silent. He was unable t...