Shane & Julia pay for medical bills

Hi, my name is Kira Ciaramitaro I am Shane Ciaramitaro’s sister. On Thursday July 27th at 6:00 AM Shane (31) went into cardiac arrest while on vacation with his wife’s family in Maine. Julia, his wife found him unresponsive and within minutes Julia’s family members began CPR which continued for 27 minutes before EMS arrived. EMS shocked him & his heart immediately started and he began breathing on his own, however EMS needed to place him into a medically induced coma in order to allow for his body to heal from the traumatic injuries. He was then transferred to a local hospital where he was immediately medevaced to Central Maine Medical center where he was placed in the cardiac ICU. There they ran tests and decided it would be best to medevac him to Maine Medical center to receive the best care he can get. He was then placed on a ventilator to conserve his energy, and a bolt was placed in his skull to measure any brain swelling that is occurring. Shane currently is in the neuro ICU where the amazing doctors and nurses are trying to bring Shane from a hypothermic state to normal body temperature. However Shane’s brain has swelled every time they have gotten close to where they need to be, therefore it is going to be a balancing act and a long process to get him where he needs to be to hopefully start the waking process. Shane remains in a medically induced coma.

As his family we ask that you please donate to help Shane, Julia and their kids Delilah and Niccolo, as they try to navigate this painful situation. These donations will go directly to any medical bills or payments that shane and Julia may need to make in the future. We ask that everyone keep them in your thoughts and prayers and remain hopeful for a full recovery for shane where he can return home to be with his family and friends.

*UPDATE*

Hi all friends and family! Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love and support and generosity for Shane & Julia! It has been a very difficult and uncertain journey the last few weeks and having you all has made it easier to get through the days. I’m sorry this update and thank you has taken so long to get out but the uncertainty of my brother’s recovery has prevented it. Today I am able to report that Shane is truly a fighter and has overcome many obstacles thus far. He is now out of his coma and off the ventilator breathing on his own. He is talking and even cracking jokes. He does have trouble tracking with his eyes but knows who I am and those around him. He is able to complete simple motor tasks when prompted like lift your right leg and stick out your tongue. Shane has a very long, hard road ahead of him as the next steps are to start rehabilitation closer to home & we are still unsure off what Shane’s future will look like. His next big hurdle will be an upcoming surgery to implant a heart defibrillator. Once this is accomplished we can hopefully start the process of getting him transferred to an acute inpatient rehabilitation facility for traumatic brain injury patients closer to home in PA. I am asking that you all please continue to send Shane positive thoughts, prayers and hopes for healing and strength. To help motivate him as he continues along this difficult path, we are looking for friends and family to send letters, photos or videos to help motivate Shane. It can be a note of encouragement, a funny story from his past, or anything else you can think of. Julia will be showing/reading these items to Shane during this very long recovery process. You can send anything you’d like to [email redacted]. He is truly lucky to have you all pulling for him and we are all truly grateful as well!

With so much love we thank you in advance, the Ciaramitaro, Alicandri, Johnson & Zahn families.