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JOSEPH GURHOLT
Joseph Gurholt
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It was spring break 2004, and like any teenager, Joseph Gurholt
of Wausau was excited to spend some time with friends. “Joseph’s friends had
asked him to go skiing because it was a nice sunny day. I told him to have fun
and to make sure he wore a helmet,” said his mom Diane Gurholt.
At 7:30 p.m., Diane thought about her son – expecting him to come home soon.
About the same time, the phone rang. It was the staff from the ski hill,
saying that Joseph had been hurt.
“Of all the things to race through my mind, I found myself thinking ‘if it’s a
broken leg or arm, we can deal with it,” said Diane.
But Joseph’s injuries were a lot more serious. According the ski patrol, it
looked like he had landed on his head and he had stopped breathing. Diane and
her husband Randy immediately rushed to Aspirus Hospital in Wausau. Because of
the severity of the injuries, the staff at Aspirus Hospital requested that the
family choose one of two places where he could be diagnosed and treated
appropriately.
“We were told Joseph had three levels of brain injury. We also were told that
he had to be transported to one of two places – Madison or Saint Joseph’s
Children’s Hospital. We chose Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, because it
was close and it was the only Level II trauma center in the area,” said Diane.
Joseph was admitted under the care of John Neal, MD, Marshfield Clinic
Neurosurgeon on staff at Saint Joseph’s Hospital. “Joseph had evidence of
intracerebral hemorrhage and was at risk for delayed cerebral edema,” said Dr.
Neal. “With a head injury like this, his outcome at that time was uncertain.
We would need to watch for complications and hope for the brain to recover on
its own.”
By the time Randy and Diane were allowed to see Joseph, he had been intubated
for three hours, and his face was swollen to the point that he was almost
unrecognizable. He also had an intracranial monitoring device in his skull
that would measure the pressure inside his brain.
“Understandably, the family was very anxious. Anytime a patient comes in with
an injury like Joseph’s, there’s always the fear of a poor neurological
outcome, such as a ‘persistent vegetative state’,” said Dr. Neal.
“We were living minute to minute, and we didn’t know what would happen,” said
Diane. “There was such compassion and caring from the doctors and nurses at
Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. We are so grateful to them and the Child
Life Specialist, who worked with Joseph’s younger brother to explain what was
happening and also helped support our family. It was as if Children’s Miracle
Network had wrapped its arms around our entire family.”
Despite the seriousness of his injury, Joseph managed to pull through with the
support of his family and the staff at the Hospital.
“Joseph’s family was the most instrumental family I’ve worked with. They all
pulled together to do whatever it took for him to get better. Joseph was very
calm despite his situation and didn’t resist care,” said Roberta Dobrzanski,
who was Joseph’s primary nurse.
Today Joseph is a freshman at Wausau East High School and experiences no
delays or sustained injuries from his near-fatal incident. He enjoys
basketball, baseball and playing the tuba. His family is very grateful for his
recovery.
“This showed us not to sweat the small stuff, and brought us closer together.
We come back to the Hospital every year to celebrate with the doctors who
saved his life” said Diane. “In fact Joseph now wants to become a physician
because of the excellent care he receivedl.” |
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