Help Joe Koski with his Septic Shock Journey

Joe, (my Dad) is a selfless and giving person who has always puts the needs of others before his own. He is the first person to help family and friends when they need anything…cars repaired, furnace repairs, deck and patios built, etc., and now he needs our help.

Joe had a knee replacement revision in March and was healing great with physical therapy. Unfortunately, his knee became infected and on April 7th he was admitted to the ICU for septic shock. The septic shock caused acute kidney failure, acute respiratory failure, congestive heart failure, encephalopathy and he also had a blood clot in his “good leg”. His prognosis was “very poor” when he was admitted to the hospital and the nurse sent and S.O.S. to the Catholic priest to give Joe the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. A few days later Joe suffered from a lacunar infarct (mini stroke).

The doctor said that they will need to explant his knee hardware but his vitals were too low for surgery so they performed a laparoscopic procedure to try and clean out his knee and put a prevena vac into the knee. Joe was put on a vent for over 8 days and he was in an induced coma with a feeding tube. About a week later the doctors were able to partially open his incision up and clean the knee out again. (vitals were still too unstable for surgery).

The lab results showed that he had MRSA, and two fungal infections in the knee and in his blood. His failing kidneys required him to have continuous kidney dialysis and then had hemodialysis every other day until May 2nd. He then developed MRSA in his lungs and pneumonia. Joe had several blood transfusions so far along with continuous iron infusions. (my family made sure to donate blood back to the blood bank!)

After being sent to the transitional care floor for some time his vitals improved just enough to perform the four-hour long total knee explant and completely clean out the knee. Because of the infection, the doctors could not put in new knee replacement hardware. Therefore, antibiotic spacers have been placed in his knee. These spacers may have to stay in his knee for at least several months before his next surgery to have another total knee replacement.

Joe is slowly improving with physical, occupational, and speech therapies. So far, because of his weakness and pain, physical therapy only consists of standing at his bedside and sitting in the chair for a short time.

If Joe keeps progressing forward, he will be transferred to a skilled nursing facility for a minimum of six weeks of IV antibiotic therapy. He is receiving and will continue to receive three different antibiotics and antifungals. If everything goes smoothly, he will then need to spend time in a Rehabilitation Hospital for rigorous physical therapy.

We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading this and for considering to share this fundraiser campaign or donate yourself. We want you to know that even if you are not able to donate, sharing this post goes a long way but prayers go a long way as well! We know that God sent Joe back to us when all odds were against him. Your generosity and kindness will help alleviate some of the burdens of Joe not being able to work during this long illness and extremely long recovery. We will be forever grateful for your support, thoughts and prayers and most of all we appreciate you!

The money from these donations will go directly towards medical bills, skilled nursing care and rehabilitation. If any donations are left over, they will be donated to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please keep Joe in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully Joe will once again be able to do the things he loves…spending time with his grandchildren and fishing…and more fishing.