My husband Jeff was very sick for months after he collapsed on the floor of our public library last July 2024, where he volunteered. He suffered a serious traumatic brain injury and brain bleed. No explanation has adequately been given for this fall. He was in a coma for a while and remembers little from the first three months. From July until after Thanksgiving, he was hospitalized twice in Bloomington, IN, and twice in Indianapolis, spent time in two rehab centers, and stayed in two different skilled nursing facilities.
Unfortunately, he developed a blister on his foot which became infected with staph that went systemic and lodged in his spine. In October, he had spinal surgery to remove an infected disk. Through all of this, he was on 12 weeks of IV antibiotics. This triggered a Clostridium difficile infection and anasarca, causing his body to swell and gain 30 pounds of fluid. It appeared to be one thing after the other blocking his progress as he was attempting to learn how to eat, walk, and regain cognition again.
The only thing that sustained me through this tragedy was prayer and prayerful friends. A friend’s rosary group prayed for him; he was in our Lutheran church’s prayer group. Fr. Meinrad Brune, OSB, said a Mass for him, and others on the Hill kept him in their prayers, along with some Bloomington oblates.
Throughout this ordeal, I constantly ask physicians about his prognosis for recovery. They generally said it was “too early” or they “didn’t know.” I believe they did know, but they weren’t telling me.
In April, two of his doctors – his infectious disease physician and his surgeon – told us they were very happy to see him alive and walking with a cane. In fact, their faces glowed with happiness. Due to the systemic staph infection, spinal surgery, and other issues, they both independently told us they were not sure if he would even survive!
Jeff is now walking up to about a mile with a cane and balancing the checkbook again.
After hearing what the physicians said, I believe there is hope in prayer. We feel his recovery is a miracle as he’s back to about 90 percent normal, physically and mentally, and continues to improve every week.
Dr. Ruth Engs, Oblate, Bloomington, IN