We are fortunate to live in an area that has excellent hospitals within 20 minutes of our home in Towson, one of which literally saved our son's life. The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center has been outstanding in their level of care, compassion and support.
Our son, Brian, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is an inherited neuromuscular disease that causes muscle wasting and eventual death from pulmonary issues. Very few Duchenne patients live beyond their mid-20s.
Some, like our son, however, have been fortunate enough to live longer; he is now 32 years old. He would not have seen his 32nd birthday if St. Joseph's critical care staff had not worked so hard to keep him alive. Our son entered the ER with potentially lethal levels of carbon dioxide, renal failure, double pneumonia and a few other problems.
We were in the intensive care unit at St. Joseph for a grueling 72 days, nor was that our son's first time there. Now, after both experiences, we know what to expect: Excellent, comprehensive care.
The average stay in the ICU at UM St. Joseph is three or four days. We were there much longer. During that time the physicians and nursing staff treated us like family. The social workers did everything in their power to ease our transition from the hospital to home. And the critical care medical staff was incredibly supportive and caring.
We are fortunate to have such a wonderful hospital and resource in our community and we hope others will support St. Joseph. It is doing an amazing job, and we need it to be here for us.
Fred Eisenbrandt, Towson