A Special Visitor

Well, it is 7:30 P.M. on Friday evening and Dad seems to be resting pretty well ... with the help of some sedatives. No major changes, which I have learned is a good thing.
My Aunt Bev has arrived and was visiting with my father when she ran into a very special visitor. Paul Toscino came in to visit my father. You may be asking, who is Paul Toscino? I would have been asking that same question 15 mins ago. Now I know, Paul Toscino is one of my father's guardian angels. Paul and his partner ,Dennis Wood, were on duty the day my father had his accident. They are life flight emergency medical technicians and responded to the scene of my father's accident. I believe Paul said he was 41 years old and he has a lifetime full of experience. He has been in this field for many years, thank god. In the few minutes we spoke, I could tell Paul was a great person who really enjoyed helping people. I am very thankful that he and Dennis were on duty that day. I look forward to speaking with him again and meeting his partner, Dennis,
Through Paul, we are getting even more details about just how strong dad was that day. Paul said that Popo was lucid when they got there and remained lucid as they evaluated him. When they saw the extent of his injuries, combined with his age, well, let's just say he did not have the highest of hopes that Dad would be somewhat stable at this point. His vitals were very unstable on the flight to the hospital with a very low blood pressure.
I hope that some day we can piece the whole thing together with the help of Dad's neighbors and Paul and Dennis. It will be a great story to tell Dad, as I am hoping he won't remember a thing about his accident.
Paul, you and Dennis are family now. Thank you so much for doing your jobs so well.
Talk to you all later,
Love
Little t.

SWEEP

Dad Yankees complete three game sweep of Sox need I say more

Thursday from Block Island, RI

I had to return to the island for a few days of work before I head back to Albany. I had no idea that it would be harder to be away than it was to be at the hospital. At least when I was there I could check in with my mom and the nursing staff (which for the most part, have been extremely good to my father) about the little things like if the feeding tube is back in and if anybody has addressed his toe yet...mom, that's a hint to you to let me know when you can. I do not want to call and call (like some oldest brothers I know), but when you have time give me a quick call.

This blog was intended to be a thank you to all of you out there who are pulling for Popo/'lil Joe/Joey/the little guy and the many other nicknames he has aquired over the years. While I was there at the hospital I felt quite strong, because looking at my dad lying in his hospital bed gave me such a sense of confidence and strength that was completely unexpected. You would think just the opposite, but my dad's strength as you all know, is like no other.

Anyway, I keep trying to get to the point. I know the blog is meant to update you on Joe's progress but I had to let you know that I am sitting here in a public library on Block Island weeping. Not beacuase I am sad, but because to read all of these comments from people whose lives have been touched by my dad is overwhelming. I have always known what an unbelievably wonderful man he is, and I am glad that you all feel the same way.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your thoughts, prayers and kind words. Keep sending them, we can feel their power.

Love,

Stacy (the daugther who frequently makes Popo show his financial generosity :)

Wed Night

Hi everyone, just a little information about Joe from this evening. Cind and myself were in the room with Joe when his nurse came in to supply some pain medication to him. She began to tell him what she was there to do, which is standaed protocol, and his eyes popped open. He gets agitated when they do this. I think because the mind is floating all around and he really has no clue where he is. Anyway, it seems as though he immediately looks around for Cind and she always grabs his hand and says something to comfort him. It is amazing how he instantly calms down. Love between people like that is almost visible, it is really amazing to see. Although difficult to explain. Sorry, back to the story. In this case after Cind grabbed his hand she told Joe "hon this is Donna she is your nurse", Joe turned to the nurse and tried flashing her a toothy smile. It was classic Joe. He then tried again, and I said ma "he is trying to flirt." We all laughed hysterically, and the nurse told him he could only flirt with his wife. She is obvoiusly not to familiar with lil' Joe. This whole interaction was so positive for me, so I just wanted to share it with all of you. Everyone remember to be good to each other and you will never have to have guilt if an accident happens. I adopted that wisdom some time ago and it has helped me to be in a very positive state during this time. Thank you all-Robb

yankees beat red sox again

dad, yankees make it two in a row over sox. tied for the wild card

Wednesday Late Afternoon Update

Well, dad continues to make positive strides, albeit small strides. It has been almost a day since his Tracheostomy and he seems to be much more comfortable with the ventilator tube out of his mouth. He is able to mouth words, smile, and he even asked mom for a kiss this morning...mom begrudgingly agreed since she wants to keep him as germ free as possible - not that she has that many germs. He is resting and needs to build his strength for his upcoming surgery on Tuesday. He is a non-scheduled patient for Tuesday and we hope he gets in, although we have been down this road before only to have him take a ride on the elevator to surgery and come right back up. We hope he heals his injuries well over the next week so he can go into surgery as strong as possible.

His next surgery on Tuesday could be a long one depending on how the procedures progress. They will start with his crushed right hip and rebuild and replace with a plate. If that goes well they will insert a rod in his right femur (quad), and finally they will move to the right tibia (shin) for yet another rod - no more airport security for dad! Hopefully he will be ready and all the procedures will be standard with no complications. The biggest concerns for his upcoming procedures are clotting and infection. He will lose a fair amount of blood, which they will replace, but they don't want any clotting to break free causing ever further damage. Infection is always a danger and will be throughout this healing process. Thankfully they are pumping him full of antibiotics. Your prayers and positive thoughts would most greatly appreciated during this next operation and recovery period - thank you!

Once again, we can't thank you all enough for the outpouring of prayers and well wishes for dad. We know he feels and hears them! Please continue what you are doing! Our strength starts with our dad and ends with our mom. We are very blessed to have Cindi and Joe for our parents and we love them more then words could every describe!

Warmest regards,

The Ferraro Kids

TUESDAY EVENING

We are at the end of another day of survival for Joe, with the ups and downs of the day and a few bumps. They were able to do a tracheostomy this evening, so it meant they could extubate him. This should make life a little more bearable for him while still facilitating the breathing on the ventilator. They have started to rotate his bed just slightly to aid in the breathing and the circulation and to try to head off the bed sores and ulcers. He is resting relatively comfortably after the surgery. We want to thank everyone who has sent us such wonderful messages of love and caring. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Love from The Ferraro Family

Details of Joe's Accident and Injuries

Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to give everyone the details of Dad's accident and the extent of the injuries he suffered. I thought everyone would want to know exactly what kind of strength dad has just to be alive.
Dad was cutting the field at my parents' home in NY when the accident occurred . He was driving his tractor (commercial sized farm tractor) which he has done many times before when he engaged the brake and got off the tractor to move a boulder. Apparently, the tractor's brake slipped a little and the tractor started moving downhill. Before he knew it or could do anything about it he was run over by the front and rear wheels. He may have also been run over by the augers. Some of the details are still a little sketchy but we believe he was dragged about 20-30 feet before the tractor kept going on its own to the bottom of the hill.
Our dad suffered many severe injuries and the final tally is not in yet. Some of his injuries include both legs broken below the knee severely. Both brakes were compound fractures. He also broke his right femur, his right pelvis and his right hip and also his right ankle. All of his ribs were broken on his right side and several on his left side. Both lungs were punctured from the broken ribs and his liver was lacerated.
On the bright side his heart and brain seem to be doing well.
After suffering all of these injuries, somehow dad was able to get his cell phone out of his pocket and call 911. His neighbor answered the call and was the first on the scene. Seeing how severe Joe was injured he called in the life-flight helicopter which arrived at the same time as the ambulance. Dad stayed conscious until the paramedics got there and they flew him to Albany Medical Center which is where he has been in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit ever since. He will probably remain their for weeks, if not months.
I know I speak for my brothers and sisters when I tell you how proud we are of our father for fighting to stay alive. He has a long battle ahead of him but we are all hopeful that with his strength and your thoughts and prayers that he will get through this.
Thank you all for your time, your comments, your thoughts and your prayers.
Sincerely,
The Ferraro Family.

MONDAY EVENING

Well, here it is - Monday evening and I have been left alone to blog. Yikes! So, here goes. First, let me try to fill everyone in on as much as we can piece together of the accident. It happened on Thursday. I had left to head to Glastonbury for the weekend, as per usual. Joe had jumped on the tractor to finish mowing the fields. We have a full sized commercial tractor that is used to cut farm fields. That is about all that is certain, the rest of this we have tried to piece together what Joe was able to tell the EMT's and from what they were able to surmise from checking out the accident scene. Joe had gotten off the tractor to pick up some rocks that were out in front of it. He had parked the tractor sideways to the hill, disengaged it, put the brake on (which was still on even after it took off all the way down the hill and crashed into the woods), so we don't know how or why it started out sideways down the hill and then headed straight down and ran over him. It also apparently dragged him 25 or 30 feet before it either spit him out or he managed to extricate himself. Miraculously, he was still conscious and able to call 911 on his cell phone and tell them exactly where he was. (For those of you who know us, I promise never to complain about the darn cell phone again.) As soon as the paramedics got there, they realized he was seriously injured and immediately called for LifeStar, which air-lifted him to Albany Medical Center. As you might imagine, he is critically wounded with massive injuries. For starters, both lungs were punctured and collapsed. All of his ribs are broken and he has a laceration of the liver. He has a broken pelvis and hip. His right femur is crushed and both legs are broken below the knee with open wounds and compound fractures. He has lost an enormous amount of blood (I think he's been given 9 or 10 units, so far). He is on a respirator and will continue to need ventilator support for a very long time, not only because of the collapsed lungs, but because of all the broken ribs. So, every hour that he survives is a plus for him right now. His first surgery included cleansing of the fractures and cleaning the dirt and grass off the exposed bones and placing external supports on those fractures. And as the orthopedic surgeon said "Oh, yes. His right big toe is broken, but I just slapped a bandage on it. We're not going to worry about that". But there is great concern about infection, including gangrene, to the exposed bones, possibly resulting in the loss of the leg. Meantime, the laceration to the liver seems to have stopped bleeding, so that is good news. He was finally cleared to surgery to replace the hip and hopefully put the rod in the femur. There was a hold-up from the cardiologist because an echocardiogram showed a contusion on the heart. Well, he did not have the surgery on Sunday and they were going to try on Monday. They took him to surgery and brought him back. Apparently, the residents thought he might be able to withstand the surgery, or at least part of it, but when the attending orthopedic surgeon looked at the surgical site, he determined that there was way too much hematoma and blisters and deep tissue damage to even try to make an incision. He said it would be an invitation to disaster - would never heal and way too much chance for infection. So that will have to wait until he is more stable and has done some more healing. For now, he is in traction. We have no idea how long we will be here. Low estimates are at least 6 - 8 weeks in the Surgical ICU. And lots of rehab. We are a long way from that point. Right now, survival is the goal. As we have done for the last few days and will continue to do over the next several months, please pray for and keep Joe in your thoughts. Signing off for now, Cindi

Sunday Evening

Well it is Sunday evening around 7:00 P.M. and Joe has not gone in for surgery. It is looking like it will probably be postponed until tomorrow. They are giving him some sedatives and he continues to be resting fairly well. We will keep you all posted. Thanks.

Popo's next surgery

Popo is due to go into surgery some time this afternoon. They have him ready to go when the surgeons are ready for him. For now, he is resting. They have plans to work on his crushed femur and hip. They will also put a rod in his other leg below the knee. They are also planning on giving him a tracheotomy to make the breathing with his respirator easier so they can take the tube out of his mouth.