A Magical Trip to Disney for Josie
Donation protected
We know Josie Kovacic as the sweetest, friendliest, smartest, and most wonderful girl, who is a 3rd grader at Wexford Elementary within the Pine Richland School District. She resides in Pine Township with her mother, Traci Kovacic & Matt Stein, and she is the best big sister to Calvin (brother), and Sydney (sister).
On February 27, 2022 while on a morning ski trip, Josie sustained a life-threatening injury after a snowboarder lost control and ran right into her. She was hit so hard that her body flew over twenty feet in the air, landing face down in the snow. She was initially found with no signs of life. The first responders quickly started CPR, and when her heart started beating again, she was loaded onto a helicopter with very little chance of survival...
On March 29th, after spending over a month in the ICU, her mother, Traci made this post:
“The first night the doctors sat us down to discuss how critical her injury was. It was explained to us that this is “the worst” injury that could have happened, and most do not make it to the hospital alive. They prepared us that since her heart already stopped for 10 minutes, the reality was that she may not make it through the night. If she did, our next conversations would be about “her quality of life,” they said that they needed to act fast if there was any hope.
• The impact detached her neck by two inches where her skull attaches to her spine. This caused a brain injury called, “Severe Diffuse Axonal Injury”
• A drain was immediately inserted into her brain to help release the fluid that was quickly building
• Our first sign of hope was that a reassessment of her brain MRI showed no strokes-this meant there was a chance for no “permanent” damage
• Next was a 6-hour surgery to fuse her head, neck and spine together. If there were any complications and the surgery was unsuccessful, this meant complete paralysis or she may not survive. She defied the odds again and everything went successful.
• For the first week her entire body was so swollen that she was unrecognizable and unable to move. Although she was in a coma-like state, the sign of hope was that she could squeeze the Drs. hand when asked, and also move her toes.
• When she finally started waking up, she was able to prove, after several tests, that she could breathe without ventilator assistance. There was an attempt to extubate-which unfortunately failed. When the ventilator was pulled, her throat quickly swelled shut and she immediately needed another emergency reintubation.
• Days later a tracheostomy surgery was performed and a feeding tube inserted into her stomach.
• One evening, the trach got a “plug” (clog). This plug cut off her airway, she was suffocating, causing another emergency, and the team all rushed into her room.
• There have been two nights where her blood pressure dropped so low that she was completely unresponsive. The ICU team was right on it, and after a 2 am CT scan they realized the fluid was building again in her brain. At 4am, I signed off for another emergency drain to be inserted into her brain to drain the fluid and get her stabilized once again.
• Next came the elevated liver enzymes which led them to realize she needed another surgery, now to remove her gallbladder.
• I lost count of the x-rays, CTs, MRI scans, ultrasounds, blood draws at 4 am, different tests, pokes, prods, parades of doctors and different teams ALL DAY long, and the endless tears and panic attacks we have all experienced over the last month.
Since her accident, Josie has amazed the doctors. One month ago, she had no heartbeat. 3 weeks ago, her future was very uncertain. 2 weeks ago, she couldn’t move. This past week she has started typing sentences, playing games on her iPad, she put weight on her legs, and even took a few assisted steps to sit in a wheelchair. She still can’t talk, but we have learned how to communicate until she can speak again.
We are so incredibly lucky. Josie has a long road to a hopeful full recovery but I can’t believe how lucky we are, that she not only survived this, but has made so much progress in a short time.
I am forever grateful to every first responder on that mountain, the pilots, all the ER staff at Johnston Hospital, the surgeons, nurses, counselors, and the entire PICU team at Children’s Hospital who all played a part in saving her life and getting her this far.
We will continue to look towards the future and to the day when Josie can come home again…”
Josie is still living at the in-patient rehabilitation center to this day. She has made great progress physically and cognitively, but unfortunately she is left unable to swallow, eat, drink or talk like she once could.
In the words of her grandfather, Phil Lewerth:
“Nobody Beats the Josie!!! There are so many things to be grateful for and so many things that are still so uncertain for the future. But, what we do know is that nobody will stop this relentless energy and love between Traci and Josie to bring her back to full health. Traci has been absolutely amazing in her daily involvement with the Drs, nurses and Josie. She remains at her bedside and hunkered down in Josie’s camp. I am so very proud of these two amazing women that when I see this kind of improvement it gives me great hope that she will be restored to full health. It’s a journey but just look at and hear the confidence and smile of those little accomplishments. We thank God for where we are and we pray for continued healing and restoring Josie’s speech and her ability to swallow. Nobody beats the Josie and the Traci! Love them both so much!!”
On Day 13 in the PICU at Children’s Hospital, Traci shared “The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Josie.” The list included, “If I could go anywhere, I would go to Disney,” Josie had written this at school prior to her accident. On that day, Traci promised Josie that she would go to Disney.
As Josie’s community, neighbors and friends let’s show her and her family that she IS going to go to Disney! Let’s give this girl and her family something to look forward to. #NobodybeatstheJosie! (#OrtheTraci!)
On February 27, 2022 while on a morning ski trip, Josie sustained a life-threatening injury after a snowboarder lost control and ran right into her. She was hit so hard that her body flew over twenty feet in the air, landing face down in the snow. She was initially found with no signs of life. The first responders quickly started CPR, and when her heart started beating again, she was loaded onto a helicopter with very little chance of survival...
On March 29th, after spending over a month in the ICU, her mother, Traci made this post:
“The first night the doctors sat us down to discuss how critical her injury was. It was explained to us that this is “the worst” injury that could have happened, and most do not make it to the hospital alive. They prepared us that since her heart already stopped for 10 minutes, the reality was that she may not make it through the night. If she did, our next conversations would be about “her quality of life,” they said that they needed to act fast if there was any hope.
• The impact detached her neck by two inches where her skull attaches to her spine. This caused a brain injury called, “Severe Diffuse Axonal Injury”
• A drain was immediately inserted into her brain to help release the fluid that was quickly building
• Our first sign of hope was that a reassessment of her brain MRI showed no strokes-this meant there was a chance for no “permanent” damage
• Next was a 6-hour surgery to fuse her head, neck and spine together. If there were any complications and the surgery was unsuccessful, this meant complete paralysis or she may not survive. She defied the odds again and everything went successful.
• For the first week her entire body was so swollen that she was unrecognizable and unable to move. Although she was in a coma-like state, the sign of hope was that she could squeeze the Drs. hand when asked, and also move her toes.
• When she finally started waking up, she was able to prove, after several tests, that she could breathe without ventilator assistance. There was an attempt to extubate-which unfortunately failed. When the ventilator was pulled, her throat quickly swelled shut and she immediately needed another emergency reintubation.
• Days later a tracheostomy surgery was performed and a feeding tube inserted into her stomach.
• One evening, the trach got a “plug” (clog). This plug cut off her airway, she was suffocating, causing another emergency, and the team all rushed into her room.
• There have been two nights where her blood pressure dropped so low that she was completely unresponsive. The ICU team was right on it, and after a 2 am CT scan they realized the fluid was building again in her brain. At 4am, I signed off for another emergency drain to be inserted into her brain to drain the fluid and get her stabilized once again.
• Next came the elevated liver enzymes which led them to realize she needed another surgery, now to remove her gallbladder.
• I lost count of the x-rays, CTs, MRI scans, ultrasounds, blood draws at 4 am, different tests, pokes, prods, parades of doctors and different teams ALL DAY long, and the endless tears and panic attacks we have all experienced over the last month.
Since her accident, Josie has amazed the doctors. One month ago, she had no heartbeat. 3 weeks ago, her future was very uncertain. 2 weeks ago, she couldn’t move. This past week she has started typing sentences, playing games on her iPad, she put weight on her legs, and even took a few assisted steps to sit in a wheelchair. She still can’t talk, but we have learned how to communicate until she can speak again.
We are so incredibly lucky. Josie has a long road to a hopeful full recovery but I can’t believe how lucky we are, that she not only survived this, but has made so much progress in a short time.
I am forever grateful to every first responder on that mountain, the pilots, all the ER staff at Johnston Hospital, the surgeons, nurses, counselors, and the entire PICU team at Children’s Hospital who all played a part in saving her life and getting her this far.
We will continue to look towards the future and to the day when Josie can come home again…”
Josie is still living at the in-patient rehabilitation center to this day. She has made great progress physically and cognitively, but unfortunately she is left unable to swallow, eat, drink or talk like she once could.
In the words of her grandfather, Phil Lewerth:
“Nobody Beats the Josie!!! There are so many things to be grateful for and so many things that are still so uncertain for the future. But, what we do know is that nobody will stop this relentless energy and love between Traci and Josie to bring her back to full health. Traci has been absolutely amazing in her daily involvement with the Drs, nurses and Josie. She remains at her bedside and hunkered down in Josie’s camp. I am so very proud of these two amazing women that when I see this kind of improvement it gives me great hope that she will be restored to full health. It’s a journey but just look at and hear the confidence and smile of those little accomplishments. We thank God for where we are and we pray for continued healing and restoring Josie’s speech and her ability to swallow. Nobody beats the Josie and the Traci! Love them both so much!!”
On Day 13 in the PICU at Children’s Hospital, Traci shared “The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Josie.” The list included, “If I could go anywhere, I would go to Disney,” Josie had written this at school prior to her accident. On that day, Traci promised Josie that she would go to Disney.
As Josie’s community, neighbors and friends let’s show her and her family that she IS going to go to Disney! Let’s give this girl and her family something to look forward to. #NobodybeatstheJosie! (#OrtheTraci!)
Organizer and beneficiary
Melanie Lam
Organizer
Pine Township, PA
Traci Kovacic
Beneficiary