AJ

 

 

 

 

 

 
Before Now

Ali & Curt, parents of AJ

Location: CO, USA

E-Mail: ambroso@gmail.com

Phone: 719.459.1553

Web: www.carepages.com (page name ambroso)

Where the accident happened: Daycare (AJ sustained a "dry drowning" - he choked on his own mucus)

Age at time of accident: 14 months

Date of accident: October 31, 2005

Therapies tried:

 

AJ's Story:

 

On Halloween of 2005 in the morning, his daycare put our sweet boy down for a nap. When AJ woke up from that nap, he was coughing and choking. He stopped breathing, and the daycare didn't know how to do CPR. When the paramedics got there, they suctioned him and were finally able to get him air- though he had no pulse and was not breathing when they arrived. They intubated him on the spot, and did an immediate transport to the hospital. The ER team was amazing- AJ coded and was revived, and stablized. When AJ got up to the PICU, we were given a very grim prognosis- they did not expect him to survive the first 48 hours, given the information they had (which suggested that AJ had been without oxygen for 3-5 minutes). His initial CAT scan was okay. He was on a ventilator, and medication to help his heart and blood pressure. His second CAT scan was also okay. His EEG however, was not okay. The first one was very slow- though they attributed that to the sedation that AJ was on (fentanyl). They repeated the EEG a week later- after AJ was off of all of his meds. It was still remarkably slow- normal are 5 waves per second... AJ was at 1.5. He ended up getting a tracheostomy, a g-tube, and a Nissen during his initial admit. In November of that year, we were told that there was no hope of AJ being non-vegetative. On December 22, 2005 AJ came home with us!

 

He has done amazingly well at home, and in August of 2006 his trach was removed. In October of 2006 a baclofen pump was placed (AJ is the youngest patient in Colorado to currently have one). He is rolling over, using a dynavox to communicate, and has the BEST belly laughs in the world.

 

The best news is that in May of 2006, the persistent vegetative state diagnosis was reversed! His EEG has increased to 5 waves per second (normal for this age is 7-9)… YAY! We know the road in front of us is long, but for our sweet boy, we have nothing but time. :)