Please play Just Breathe in Indy for Jeff and Joanna
For my friends
Jeff, Jo and their high school aged daughters were in FL in
the middle of July for their daughters softball tournament. During some downtime from the games, a group
of families decided to rent a pontoon for a leisure day on the water. The pontoon was a double decker with a slide
on the top deck. Well, Jeff decided to
jump onto the slide (has not grown up as much as most 50+ males) and overshot
the slide, causing his feet to hit the side of the slide and send him falling
backwards into the water, ultimately landing on his neck at the bottom of the lake.
I’ll spare all the details of the chaos that ensued after in terms of getting him out of the water, onto
the boat, back onto land and to the emergency room, In my mind, truly a herculean effort by those
involved.
He was admitted into ICU, diagnosed to have Central cord syndrome with multiple fractures to his vertebrae near the neck. Jo was told that although he was not paralyzed, they would need to wait one week to determine if surgery would be required. Jo spent this week going back and forth between the tournament and staying with Jeff in the hospital. As the week progressed, Jeff had minimal feeling and had not feelings in his hands. The first sign of good news came in the form of NO SURGERY, but also no guarantee Jeff would ever fully recover. Jeff’s parents flew from IN to FL to take Jeff/Jo’s daughters back to IN, while Jo sat by Jeff’s side contemplating what life would be like if Jeff did not fully recover.
Next up, get Jeff BACK to the Indianapolis area. Limited physical therapy occurred over the next two weeks but the FL doctor agreed to let Jeff fly (via an air ambulance) home for rehab in Indy. After a few days of preparation, Jo started the 16 hour drive home by herself while Jeff was set to fly home. 4-5 hours into the drive, Jo gets a call that Jeff’s flight was delayed until the following day. Jo had to contemplate turning around to be with Jeff or continue home, which ultimately she was convinced by family/friends was the best choice. Jeff does finally make it home the next day, still with very little feeling in his upper body. They are again reminded by their new medical staff that there is no guarantee Jeff will ever return to prior physical abilities.
Approximately one month after the accident, they are elated to hear the words “Jeff can go home now and continue his therapy there”. He has been told by his medical staff that his progress is far greater than expectations. Although the road of recovery is still a long one and the therapy is brutal, he is now home and able to bring some normalcy and balance to Jo and their girls lives.
I cannot imagine the roller coaster of emotions Jo had to have felt (and continues to feel) as she cares for her daughters with start of school, provide updates of his progress to all the family/friends/colleagues, manage work expectations for both her and him and be strong for Jeff as is faced with extremely difficult therapy. She tells everyone how much of a badass Jeff is, but lets be honest, she is the BAD ASS of the family!
Jeff and Jo had been planning to attend their 1st PJ show at Indy and although there are no guarantees he will be able to make it, he is working his tail off to do so. I am asking y’all to play Just Breath for them, as I can only imagine all Jo wanted from Jeff in those initial minutes, hours and days, was for him to “Just Breathe”.
Comments
Video I took from Chicago a few years back.
https://youtu.be/nC7H7llm0Eo?si=Cji4w7zo5o_xriA2