Rachel Sconza is a 26 year old woman who was born in Chicago and raised in the Beverly neighborhood on the south side of the city. Rachel attended Beverly Montessori preschool and graduated from Clissold Elementary School. From Clissold, she went on to St. Ignatius College Prep where she played varsity soccer, made a ton of friends, and had four great high school years. From there, it was on to the University of Kansas, where she earned excellent grades and graduated with degrees in both Spanish and International Studies. Rachel had always loved to travel, but really caught the bug after studying abroad in Spain and then spent a summer in Seville teaching grade school English. Her passport has a stamp on almost every page! After graduation, recollections of teaching lured her to graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she began a master’s degree program in early childhood special education. She loved everything about grad school, teaching, and the children. Life was going well. Rachel liked her part-time job, school was almost completed, she loved her many friends and was enjoying apartment life in Lincoln Park.On Friday, December 19th, 2009, everything changed. Finals were over, the holiday break had begun, and plans were being made to celebrate her sister’s birthday that evening. While sharing leftover pizza with her roommates, Rachel suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and became unresponsive. Fortunately, her friends summoned the paramedics who, miraculously, kept her alive and took her to Illinois Masonic Hospital. There is still no explanation for why this happened to Rachel, but the outcome of this terrible event has been devastating for Rachel and everyone who loves her.
The days and weeks that followed were an ICU nightmare. Every emergency treatment possible was called out and Rachel barely made it through each day. Hope was fading but, throughout this awful ordeal, her family and many of her friends were with her constantly. After almost a month, Rachel’s condition improved enough to be moved to another hospital where she would learn to breathe on her own again. Rachel’s physical recovery continued to be plagued with ups and downs, but she eventually fully regained consciousness. It soon became clear that she had lost her ability to move almost any part of her body and was unable to eat or speak. The prolonged cardiac arrest and lack of oxygen had caused a severe anoxic brain injury. Over time, we came to realize that the brain injury had paralyzed her, but it was clear that she still knew who her family and friends were and understood that something horrible had happened to her. Listening to her regular sobbing was heart wrenching. The problem now was figuring out the best way to move forward.
By late February, Rachel was ready to be moved to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where we all expected a miracle to happen, but that was not the case. She spent two months at RIC, but her progress continued to be hindered by illness, weakness, and the emergence of very painful muscle spasticity. We all learned a great deal about the world of rehabilitation medicine and made a number of friends who we continue to see in therapy.
On April 29th, 2010, Rachel finally came home to Beverly to live with her family and begin outpatient therapy. She had spent almost five months in hospitals. It was soon realized that no one can really be ready for the changes in home life this kind of situation causes. Rachel’s physical and emotional needs were too much for her family to handle on their own. Fortunately, RIC had helped with planning and many friends came to help and visit. Caretakers were in place and, incredibly, they found a way to get through each day.
Rachel has been home for a year now. It’s been a year of doctors and therapy. Her parents, Jan and Joe, and her siblings Justin and Rebecca, have been an incredible support system to Rachel and are devoted to giving her the best possible care. The early months at home were difficult at best but, gradually, Rachel seemed healthier and control over her spasticity slowly improved. About six months ago, small, subtle changes began. She was getting a little bit stronger and more mobile. Rachel continues to move ahead with her own hard work and lots of help from others. Her speech is improving and she is able to say some words and even sentences sometimes, although it is not always easy to understand. Eating is the next big challenge as she is being fed by a feeding tube at this point. Rachel is always paying attention and listening intently to everyone around her. If you ask her a question, you’ll get a sheepish smile that lets you know she’s aware of everything. When you whisper, you can see her tilt her head to hear better.
Rachel goes to physical and speech therapy multiple times per week and she needs to continue with this indefinitely. Unfortunately, insurance coverage is intermittent so Rachel’s family has been paying out of pocket for the therapy. In addition, the assistance provided by caregivers is an enormous cost, but is essential for Rachel’s ongoing care at home and for help transporting Rachel to and from therapy.
Needless to say, Rachel and her family have a long, hard road ahead of them and that is why we need your help. This benefit is being held by the friends of Rachel and her family in hopes that it will help ease some of the financial burden this family is under because of this brain injury. We are hoping that this event is a huge success and helps to provide Rachel the continuous care she needs. We are grateful for the progress that Rachel has made and are hopeful with continued therapy Rachel will improve each day! We hope you can make it on September 9th to help make this benefit a success and show your love and support for Rachel and her family.