Steven’s Recovery

My brother, Steven, got into a very severe motorcycle accident Wednesday night. He broke his neck, multiple ribs, both scapulas and has some head trauma. He has been admitted to and being treated in the Trauma ICU for his injuries. He has already undergone a surgery for his neck. Steven has months of recovery ahead of him to get even closely back to a “normal.” Over this time, we want Steven to focus solely on his health and getting better. He will have multiple bills, living expenses and medical bills during this time period. If you are able to donate at all to help lessen the financial burden so that he can focus on getting better, we would greatly appreciate it. We appreciate all the love and support we have received during this time period. Steven has amazing friends and family surrounding him, and we could not be more grateful. Thank you all so much! ❤️

Update as of 10/29/23: We met with the TICU doctor this morning. Steven has a diffuse axonal injury of the brain. He can respond to commands, but is not alert on a regular basis. He will need neuro rehabilitation at a different facility. This will probably occur later this week. We will meet with our case manager on Monday to discuss our options. Thank you all for your continued support and love!

Update as of 10/31/23: Steven has continued to make progress! He was able to be taken off the ventilator and placed on supplemental oxygen. He is able to breathe on his own but may have a touch of pneumonia (still waiting on culture results) and he still has a feeding tube in. But his neuro status continues to improve daily! He is able to follow basic commands- though not 100% consistently yet- and is able to answer yes or no questions by nodding or shaking his head. He even tried to say his name when we asked him what it was! He is not opening his eyes very often but is very actively moving around his bed to the point they have to sedate him slightly to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. He will most likely be downgraded to a regular hospital bed/room by beginning of next week. My family and I are truly touched by everyone’s support! Not only

monetarily but also through all the well wishes and prayers. It just goes to show how amazing a person Steven is ❤️ He’s as stubborn as a mule and will keep fighting!

Update as of Nov 1: We have hit a minor step back in Steven’s recovery process. He had to be re-intubated and placed back on the ventilator yesterday afternoon due to his lungs having a build up of fluid on them that would not allow appropriate oxygenation to the body on his own. We are trying to stay positive about this minor set back and this just means Steven’s body needs more time to heal. We will keep you updated!

Update as of Nov 4: Steven was still not getting the oxygen he needed after being intubated and the doctors were worried about the long term side effects of intubation. So they went ahead and performed a tracheostomy yesterday. Steven is still using the ventilator to breathe but he has made great head way on how much he is relying on it! My mother says last night he was very responsive and even wanted to watch some TV. He is still in the trauma ICU but they are looking to step him down to the regular ICU in the next day or so. His neck continues to heal well. The next biggest challenge is to find the appropriate neuro and physical therapy program for Steven that also meets my family’s desires to be by him. Again, I am blown away from all the love and support y’all have provided!

Update Nov 8: Great news for today’s update! Steven has been move to the next unit from the Trauma ICU - essentially a “normal” ICU. He is now able to rest more since the area is a lot more quiet and hectic. They are looking to remove his tracheotomy tube in the next 24 hours and see how he does breathing on his own. Physical therapy came by and they were able to get Steven to stand 3 times!!! We are so proud of him. Steven is still sporadically alert/conscious but he was awake for a whole 30 minutes while my parents visited him. My family has to make the next big decision in the next 2-3 days of where Steven will be transported for his in-patient neuro and physical therapy needs over a 4-7 week time period. The options are between Metro Health in Cleveland or Atrium Health in Charlotte. I did adjust Steven’s goal for his fundraiser since we have a bit more understanding of some

of the financial components Steven has going forward. Thank you to those that have already donated and sent their love! It really means a lot ❤️

Update Nov 13th: Steven has made tremendous progress since last update! Brian and Firoozeh went and visited him this past weekend. He got moved to a normal patient room. He is not very talkative and can engage in conversation. He remembers quite a bit of information so that is great news! He just passed his swallow test today so he can be on soft solid food and had his NG tube pulled. He is very agitated being in the hospital and is looking to get out and has tried to get out of bed himself quite often (typical stubborn Steven that we all know and love). Later this week, Steven will be transport by Ambulance to MetroHealth Hospital in Cleveland for his in-patient neuro and physical rehabilitation. We will continue to keep you all posted!