Chad and Frankie went out to a favorite local restaurant to celebrate their 14th anniversary on July 8, 2024. Chad was excited to step out of his usual comfort zone to try some new flavors and was enjoying dinner at a local spot in their hometown of Bisbee, Arizona. Part way through dinner, Chad decided to step outside to get some fresh air. When he returned to the table, he told Frankie he felt "off" and would go back outside. As Frankie handled the check, Chad walked toward the door and immediately crumpled to the pavement, without putting anything forward to break his fall. Frankie rushed to his side, where he found Chad severely injured: his head hit the pavement HARD and there was a startling amount of blood coming out of his ears. Chad was struggling to breathe. In a moment, everything changed. The coming days were terrifying, exhausting, frustrating, and inspiring, in equal measure. Chad's fall caused significant damage: after being initially evaluated at Bisbee hospital, he had to be airlifted to the Trauma Unit in Banner Hospital at the University of Arizona in Tucson (a 45-minute helicopter ride). Unable to join Chad in the helicopter, Frankie grabbed a small bag, and their beloved dog Bosch, and headed toward Tucson and the unknown. The first few days at Banner were a blur of tests, advocacy and urgency. His condition was life-threatening. He had a subarachnoid / right interperitoneally hemorrhage (a "brain bleed" 1.5cm in diameter), severe facial damage including the inside of his eye socket broken on both the top and bottom, along with a swollen optic nerve and various contusions. Worst of all, he was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. Chad's sister, Caren, along with his partner, Frankie, were by his side 24/7 and remained vigilant to ensure the best care and treatment plan for Chad as he was first stabilized, then began his long road recovery. Initially, the prognosis seemed overwhelming and potentially fatal. However, each day brought a bit of progress. First, while in ICU, Chad began to mumble words. Most did not make sense, but it was a step forward. He was unable to move the left side of his body well (due to the brain injury on the right hemisphere). They were told it could take weeks or months for Chad to regain simple physical and cognitive abilities. But soon he recognized Frankie and Caren by name consistently, though he did not know who he was, where he was, what happened, or what year (or even what century) it was. Little milestones began to occur. -When he reached out for a cup to take a drink on his own, they cheered. -When he could remember his name and birthday, they cheered. -When he remembered his was in a hospital, there were high fives and fist pumps. Every new tiny step forward brought feelings of inspiration and rivers of tears. Chad was soon able to move out of ICU to a private room in the neurological unit, where his confusion was still significant, but glimpses of the "real Chad" began to peek through, giving everyone hope and encouragement. His sense of humor would arise now and then, and he had the therapists in stitches occasionally. He even noticed his physical therapist had a bilingual tag on her nameplate, and to her delight, they conducted the entire appointment in Spanish. This gave Frankie, his beloved, the hope and faith that Chad would be back, in time. Frankie resolved to care for him along that journey, no matter how long it takes. Caren observed that their love is so strong, and so inspiring, and wants the world to know how grateful she is for Frankie's devotion and unwavering commitment to Chad's recovery, no matter how long it takes. Chad was moved out of Banner Hospital to an in-patient rehabilitation center, initially for a stay of anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months. He was told TBIs are unpredictable, and it's impossible to know how fast or slow each phase of recovery would be. Chad continued to steadily progress, and has showed in only 6 days that he is physically and mentally stable enough to go home to start outpatient therapy. He has now been released to Frankie's care on July 24, 2024. Chad will be working with cognitive therapists to fully recover and heal his brain. The road is not entirely straightforward and will require effort, grace and full-time care. Chad has a strong spirit and body, but healing takes time. Both Frankie and Chad are self-employed but will be taking time off their respective vocations to devote themselves to Chad's full recovery, and their physical and emotional well being along the way. While Chad does have insurance, the costs he has experienced are not fully covered and there will be many more to come. Additionally, neither he nor Frankie will be directly generating income in the coming weeks/months and finances are an acute and immediate concern. We know you want to help and are looking for ways to do that. This site was created in response to the outpouring of well wishes and communications. Chad and his loved ones are aware that they are unable to respond directly to every one of you and want to keep folks up to date. They will use this page to do a few things: 1. Aggregation of information and updates 2. One location for people to communicate directly with Chad; Frankie will be sharing comments and posts with him 3. Share a LFEBridge link if you choose to support their incoming financial needs Thank you for caring so much about Chad, Frankie and his family. Chad is an amazing man and wonderful human that is surrounded by love and every gesture and well wish is received with gratitude and humility. You are appreciated. We will keep you posted on Chad's recovery and ask for your patience and to respect their privacy during this extraordinarily challenging time.
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