A Story of Survival and Gratitude: Meet Chad and Mary

What began as a typical day — biking, playing pickleball, and dinner with friends — became an unexpected battle for health and advocacy. On August 5, 2023, Mary woke in the middle of the night to find her husband, Chad, missing from bed. “I thought he was up working on his laptop like he sometimes did,” Mary recalls. When he wasn’t at his computer, Mary called out his name but didn’t receive a response. “When he didn’t answer, I checked the bathroom, and there he was, unconscious.” She quickly called 911, and Chad was taken to a local hospital.

The events that followed would change both their lives, leading them through a challenging journey of numerous hospital stays, months of waiting, and several life-threatening moments.

A Sudden Crisis

Chad had always been healthy, so Mary had no idea how critical the situation was. “He was perfectly healthy, fit, and athletic at 69 years old,” she recalls. She grabbed only her husband’s essentials, expecting they’d be home soon and never anticipating the harrowing road ahead that would last for nearly 5 months.

While waiting to speak with the doctor, Mary called her children on the phone to explain what had happened. Still thinking the situation wasn’t serious and that they’d be home soon, she told them not to worry. But the reality hit hard when the
doctor overheard her and urged, “Get your children here immediately.” The family was told Chad might not survive the night.

Chad had a ruptured aneurysm, leading to a severe brain bleed followed by cardiac arrest. Doctors performed aggressive CPR, and after 5 minutes, Chad was revived but remained unstable. He was intubated quickly, without time for muscle relaxants to protect his lungs. The procedure, along with CPR, caused lung damage that eventually led to respiratory failure and sepsis.

Chad was flown by helicopter to a larger hospital for specialized care that night. Mary and her family drove to the city and waited in a conference room, wondering if they’d ever get to speak to him again.

A Fight for Survival

When Chad arrived by MedFlight, he briefly regained consciousness and faintly squeezed a doctor’s hand—a hopeful sign of responsiveness. “If it weren’t for that weak squeeze, things might have been different,” Mary recalls. Doctors then put Chad in a medically induced coma to stabilize him. “He was so fragile. Every time we controlled one issue, another arose,” she says.

In the ICU, Chad faced multiple complications. “I kept saying unless someone tells me he’s brain dead, I want every life-saving measure possible,” Mary recalls. It took several days before doctors could safely address Chad’s brain bleed because he was too unstable.

Eventually, his neurosurgeon treated the aneurysm using endovascular coiling. This less invasive technique treats the aneurysm from inside the blood vessels. This procedure guides a tiny coil through the blood vessels to the damaged area to block blood flow and prevent further bleeding.

Coils are especially helpful in emergency situations. Typically, a single aneurysm may require multiple coils to effectively block blood flow and prevent rupture. If more than one aneurysm is found, additional coils may be used to prevent further bleeding events.

Complications from Immobility

Because of the brain bleed, it was too risky to give Chad blood thinners for blood clot prevention. However, as Chad lay immobile in a coma, his circulation slowed, increasing his risk for blood clots. He soon developed deep vein thromboses (DVTs), clots that form in the deep veins, often in the legs. These clots traveled to his lungs, causing multiple pulmonary emboli (PE). “He didn’t have any family history of clots or any other risk factors,” recalls Mary.

Setbacks of Transfer

About a month later, Chad woke up. Doctors removed his ventilator, and he was moved to a floor for less critically ill patients. But the day after he was moved, Mary got a call that Chad was struggling and needed to be put back on the ventilator. He was transferred back to the ICU – the burn trauma ICU this time since the neuro ICU was short on beds.

While the staff was skilled, they didn’t have the specialized experience he needed, so Mary advocated to get him back to the neuro ICU. Eventually, he required a feeding tube to assist with nutrition and underwent a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure where a tube is placed in the windpipe for long-term breathing support.

From Celebration to Crisis

Eventually, Chad made enough progress in his recovery to be dis- charged from the ICU to a long-term acute care facility. “It was a huge deal; everybody was clapping because they were so happy he had survived,” said Mary.

Things were slightly different at this facility compared to the hospital. Mary was understandably concerned for her husband. There was less frequent monitoring, and with strict visiting hours in place, she couldn’t see Chad until later in the afternoon. “It was terrifying to leave him there, knowing he couldn’t speak up if he needed something,” she remembers. Mary came in to see her husband the next day to find him unresponsive and seizing.

The aneurysm had re-ruptured, and Chad was rushed back to the hospital. Back at the hospital, Chad’s blood pressure was dangerously low, his pupils were unresponsive, and he was experiencing seizures. The doctors needed to relieve the pressure in his brain, but there was one problem. Chad had been put on blood thinners after his PE and couldn’t have any procedures or surgeries until an agent was administered to reverse his blood thinners.

Without an antidote to his blood thinners prior to the procedure, he would have been at risk for severe or fatal bleeding. All they could do now was wait. “We had to wait for the antidote, and it seemed like forever. We’re standing there watching the monitors, hearing the alarms, and asking the medical staff if they can do anything. But all they could do was give him fluids.”

After the reversal agent was finally administered, the doctors performed the procedure to relieve the pressure in Chad’s brain – but the bleeding continued. The neurosurgeon re-coiled the aneurysm, but brain scans the next day showed that blood was still leaking.

To stop it, the surgeon needed to do a craniotomy (where part of the skull is removed to access the brain), but several multidrug-resistant infections, including pneumonia, made surgery risky. With no other choice, the neurosurgeon went ahead and successfully repaired the aneurysm.

Advocating for Safety

After spending another month in the ICU, Chad was ready to be discharged again. He was scheduled to return to the facility where he’d first experienced complications after his previous discharge from the hospital.

Mary was hesitant at first because of their prior experience. The problem was that Chad was back on blood thinners to prevent a clot, and if something were to happen again with his brain bleed, he would need to be close to a hospital that had the antidote to reverse his blood thinners. The only option was to go to the same facility close to the major hospital.

Mary knew she had to advocate for her husband and would only go back if given the right to visit him beginning in the morning rather than in the afternoon. The facility also had robotic video surveillance that she insisted be used continuously on Chad. “I just needed a little peace of mind. I needed to know he was safe there,” she states.

Things Began to Take a Turn

Chad’s progress seemed promising as he prepared for transfer to inpatient rehab. After only being tube-fed for several months, he was fed chicken and began choking severely. He couldn’t stop coughing for days, and mucus and blood poured from his tracheostomy tube. He then became disoriented. “We finally reached the point where he could talk with us and ask about work. But after that, he no longer knew who we were,” Mary recalls.

Chad would once again need to return to the hospital for treatment of additional complications and an evaluation for his confusion. The doctors discussed placing a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt — a small tube to help drain excess fluid from the brain — to see if it would improve his confusion, but they were hesitant.

Instead, they performed a lumbar puncture to remove some of the cerebrospinal fluid, hoping to relieve pressure and improve his confusion. He slightly improved, but not enough. His family didn’t want him to go back to the long-term acute care facility, so instead he went to an inpatient rehab.

Refusing to Give Up

“In an inpatient rehab facility, patients must show continual improvement. Part of me thought he was starting at such a low point that he was bound to improve at least somewhat. We had those few good days before the choking incident, but now he was weaker and couldn’t answer basic questions like what city or season it was. What could we do to get Chad back?”

But Chad didn’t make any improvement, and the rehab told Mary it was time to decide on a nursing home. She was given until Monday to pick a home for her husband. Mary fought against sending him to the nursing home. She noticed his growing physical weakness and mental confusion and felt there had to be something else causing his decline.

Her instincts were right – Chad’s condition worsened, and he was sent back to the hospital. Chad’s brain scans revealed worsening hydrocephalus, a condition where excess fluid builds up in the brain, increasing pressure. After being treated for an infection in the hospital, his neurosurgeon decided it was time for a permanent VP shunt.

A Time for Thanks

A week after his infection cleared, Chad underwent surgery, and by Thanksgiving, he was a completely different person. “We walked in, and he knew he was in Boston and who we were. We were rejoicing,” Mary recalls. After recovering, Chad returned to inpatient rehab, weaker but improving. “He could participate and knew who he was and what he was doing,” says Mary.

Even after catching COVID, Chad kept up with his therapies. After months in the hospital, Chad came home in a wheelchair and on a feeding tube. Mary, now managing his recovery herself, watched him grow stronger every day. “Nothing has been easy, but he relearned to swallow, eat, tie his shoes, and write. Now, he walks, drives, and even played golf yesterday.

He still struggles with balance and strength, but other than that, he’s back,” she says proudly. Both his short-term and long-term memory are intact. In addition, four months after his return home, a retina surgeon performed surgery on his left eye to restore the vision he had lost after his brain bleed.

Be the Advocate

Through nonstop challenges, Mary stood by Chad as a strong advocate, carefully tracking his medications, procedures, and vital signs. She regularly questioned doctors, seeking clear explanations and pushing for answers when things seemed off.

“You have to be their voice,” she says. “I had to push for things. He couldn’t speak for himself.” Mary didn’t just take notes; she actively collaborated with the medical team and addressed communication gaps. “I knew I couldn’t just sit back,” she recalls. Her dedication and vigilance kept Chad’s care on track, ensuring he received optimal treatment through every setback.

Message of Hope

Reflecting on their experience, Mary and Chad have a message for others facing similar journeys: “Don’t give up too early. Some doctors were ready to give up on me, but I’m here. Keep fighting.”

Chad’s recovery was made more difficult by vascular complications, including PE and the challenge of having to urgently reverse his anticoagulation (blood thinners). Chad believes that Mary’s role as his advocate made all the difference. “If you have a loved one in a critical situation, be their voice.

Write everything down, ask every question, and don’t be afraid to speak up,” Mary advises. Through the darkest moments, Chad’s resilience and Mary’s unwavering dedication have led to a recovery once thought impossible. Today, Chad is back to enjoying life, and both he and Mary are sincerely grateful to the neurosurgeon, neurocritical care doctors and ICU nurses, retina surgeon, and the entire healthcare team that helped save him.