Support Norm and Jeanne

UPDATE: Norm passed away peacefully at his home on May 8, 2024 surrounded by his family.

My name is Jessica Couto, I am writing as a representative of my family for my parents, Norm and Jeanne. I had been holding off writing this for a month while my father was in ICU because I thought I’d be asking for support for rehabilitation, new van and medical bills, as my father has always pulled through every battle that he encountered.

These last few months of battling health issues have been tough on him, he’s lost so much weight and strength that his body is tired. Don’t get me wrong…he’s still a fighter and will make you laugh, but after being in a wheelchair for 42 years, we know the end is near. My mom has balanced her career as a nurse at work and a caregiver at home for years, and she’s always been by his side. In fact they just celebrated 50 years from when they had their first date and have their 50 year wedding anniversary this December.

Norm’s Story

Norm’s health has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse and his prognosis is somber. He is currently home on hospice.

Norm was transferred to Concord Hospital on April 1st due to having osteomyelitis in both hips. This all started with a superficial lesion in the left hip, which became progressively worse even though he has been undergoing wound care with a specialist since August of 2023.

He was in dire need of a new wheelchair and due to the bureaucracy of insurance, he had to wait 9 months for this new wheelchair. His wheelchair was breaking apart, uncomfortable and being held by bungee cords, and unfortunately caused his wounds to get worse. Over the course of 9 months spending countless hours pursuing updates and pressing for the importance of getting this new chair, it wasn’t until 2 days before being admitted to the hospital that he finally received a new wheelchair.

At Concord Hospital, his medical situation was evaluated to come up with a game plan to help him eventually recover. They suggested a colostomy would help with leading a better quality of life going forward. However, they wanted him to have a colonoscopy before they did the colostomy surgery. The colon needs to be “clean” for this procedure and regular able-bodied patients take 1 day to normally do this by drinking that nasty drink and in essence fast for 24 hours. Iit took them 5 days to prep him, due to his paralysis and it being more difficult to “clean” the colon. This ordeal made him all that much weaker.

By the time they finally performed the colostomy, he was going on 8 days without eating solid food. The colostomy procedure was set to be 3 hours, but due to his paralysis and sitting crooked in a wheelchair for 9 months, his sigmoid was tethered and they needed to remove his appendix. The surgery took 6 hours, and he was put in ICU because he was having a hard time breathing. My father looked exhausted, pale and feeling deflated. His eyes said it all.

On Saturday, April 13th, they informed us they would have to intubate him since his blood oxygen levels were low. Jeanne being a nurse, knew once they intubate someone, it’s extremely hard to extubate him. Norm was kept alert after 2 days of intubation and would communicate with his eyes and a placemat with letters spelling out his needs.

On April 22nd, they extubated and Norm called Jeanne so excited to speak to her. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, April 23rd, they had to intubate him again because his left lung kept filling up with fluid and they needed to perform a bronchoscopy. The doctors informed us that they could extubate 3 times before difficult life decisions needed to be made - quality of life vs quantity of life. Norm had already decided he did not want a tracheotomy.

On Monday, April 29 at 3:00 p.m, Norm had decided he was tired of the tube after having lived with it for a week, not being able to speak and thus decided he wanted them to extubate him and was ready to move to Comfort Measures and pass on. Jeanne and myself stayed with him in the ICU. Hearing his voice once again brought so much joy to us. All he wanted to do was enjoy talking to the people he loved and enjoy the food he loved.

The first thing he asked for was a Diet Pepsi. He was so happy to have the tube removed and started talking and telling us what his final wishes were. He said we weren’t allowed to cry, and only laugh. We were all settled in the ICU for the night when the nurse came in at 11 p.m to tell us they were moving us out of the ICU and to the 5th floor. That surprised us since the medical staff re-assured us that Norm would be made comfortable for his remaining days, and honestly it felt very rude. After many miscommunications on the 5th floor, Norm had decided this was not how he wanted to live out his remaining days and that it was time to go home to hospice. He wanted to be at home in Berlin where he had spent his whole life and where he felt the most comfort and love. Norm was discharged Thursday, May 2nd and is extremely happy to be at home reminiscing with family and friends.

Norm’s Younger Years

Anyone who knows Norm can tell you that he is the most sociable person that they know and is always willing to spend time to talk to you and brighten your day. He’s a people person, loves being around people, making them smile and helping in any way he can.

Norm’s life hasn’t been easy. At the age of 23 he suffered a tragic accident that rendered him a quadriplegic. Even with the struggles of being limited to a wheelchair, he continued to live life to the fullest and demonstrated what it is to be a role model for perseverance.

Norm’s determination led him to earn a degree in teaching and serve as a teacher until his retirement. His love of teaching, providing interactive learning and engaging with kids quickly saw him become a favorite teacher of many kids. Norm spent much of his personal time and money to ensure his students had a fun and captivating learning environment.

In Norm’s retirement, he wrote a book about his life, continued substitute teaching in Berlin.

Help Norm and Jeanne

Let's unite to lend support throughout this challenging journey. Together, we possess the power to make a difference and offer the encouragement and optimism required to triumph over these trying times.

Donations will go towards covering funeral expenses, medical bills, house repairs that have been put off due to dealing with health concerns for the past year. Norm and Jeanne and his family are deeply grateful for prayers, support, assistance, and love.

Every contribution, regardless of size, will significantly alleviate the financial strain on Norm and Jeanne during this trying time.