Klayanderson

We know that life is a journey full of surprises. Some good, some happy and those that arrive full of sadness. Leaving huge scars.

Two of April 2005 was this day in Klay's life. Only 27 days before his birthday. Klay went to supermarket to do some shopping as if were an ordinary day. He bought, talked with a friend and went home.

Arriving home, put the bags with purchases on the table and was going to put it away. His uncle them asked him: Klay put a song for us. He went to the couch, sat down and got a strange look on his face. His uncle asked if he was OK?? Thinking he was upset with something, insisted on the question. Klay answered: I have a very strong headache and everything is turning. My brother called me and ask what he should do!! I told him to give Klay 2 Tylenol and take him to the hospital. He did that, and after ran to call the other brother who lived 2 blocks away for help, as his phone was answered. When he was halfway through his fiancée called and told him to rush back, Klay started to vomit and seemed very ill. They arrived in seconds and took Klay to the hospital.

This headache would forever change Klay's life. He could never put away his shopping.

He arrive in the hospital and the doctors did all the tests, than send him in an urgently to another hospital. He was already in a coma. I rush myself from New York to New Jersey, once in the hospital the doctors came running to ask us to sign a document, they needed to put a drain on Klay's head, even do they were sure Klay wasn't going to survive. His brain was bathed in blood. I was desperate, until that moment I had never dealt with any type of disease. Of course, I new exactly what an AVM, what I could not understand was: WHY KLAY COUD NOT SURVIVE? I called a doctor friend of mine in the most desperate and even unable to speak properly,but found a way to understand me and asked to talk with Klay's doctor. After that the doctor took me to a room and showed me the images of Klay's head, in an attempt to make understand the severity of the case. There was enormous amount of bloodstains all over his brain. Meaning it almost impossible to survive that. I cried without comfort and disbelief.

They called a priest to talk to me. Later they called us to the ICU. Klay was there, completed intubated, on the left was the iv and on the right below the bad was a bag with the blood that was drained from his head. I cannot even explain what I felt…

I believe there aren't words to describe such a pain.

Klay survived the 24 hours, the doctors called us again and said they had an emergency and need to open Klays had because the intra-cranial pressure was so high it was almost boiling. That surgery wasn't to fix anything only to relive the pressure...And more worst of all, they said if Klay would bleed during surgery he would die, and was sure that was going to happen. But unfortunately they had to do it. Surgery would take between 4 and 6 hours. We mourn, we pray, faith was our only hope.

Three hours later there came the doctor saying the impossible had happen and Klay had not bled. I Knew God was listening to our presses and didn't stop praying. Klay came back to the ICU and after a week, here came the doctors again, saying Klay need a tracheotomy and a feed tube. Again Klay wins another battle. Once again came back to the ICU from the operate room. He remains there for the next 4 month in a deep coma.

Doctors expecting him to die… And I, awaiting to take him home. In July Klay opened his eyes and after that doctors decided to do an embolization on him. That means start to glue the malformed veins in his brain. A proceed where they make a cut to the groins and from there doctors bring a glue to the malformed vein in the brain. He passed that one too and was back in the ICU. He remained there for another 2 weeks, than they send him to a less intensive ICU. He was now in partial coma, where the eyes was opened but he wasn't seeing.

November, Klay came out of the coma, early December, doctors decide to do another surgery. Late December, he leaves the hospital to the rehabilitation center and on the discharge papers doctors wrote VEGETABLE.

For them was impossible for Klay to overcome that situation, to much damage on his brain. He stayed until February on that center, and was sent to another facilities where he could stay for a longer time. While there they took him out of the feeding tube and begins to eat soft food by mouth again. In August Klay goes back to the hospital for another surgery, all third trying to fix the malformed veins, so that Klay would have another bleeding.

Thank Good he survives that one to. Soon after that, I received the devastating new: Klay mother has died in Brazil. She was young but as her son, she was struggling to survive while in line for a kidney transplant. His suffering and agony added to her own, lead her into her death.

HOW COULD I GIVE HIM SUCH A NEWS??

Doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, who worked with him, had a meeting with me and together we decided it seems best to preserve him from such news. He needed to join forces for his only survival, and it could be even more tragic.

After staying for one year and few months at this facility, Klay went home for while, awaiting for one more surgery.

He was doing very well, far from being the vegetable the doctors said he would became. Next surgery was schedule for July 2007. It was so very sad to take him back to a hospital. We got there and he went to the operating room. One hour had past when the doctor calls me to the operation room. My heart was pounding very fast, got there and the doctor showed me Klay head image and pointed to me where the last vein to be fixed was and say the embolization would be to risk, as the vein was to deep inside the brain.

The other choice was to open his head again. I almost had a heart attack, but unfortunately there was no other choices for us but agree with that. They schedule us for September 2007 there we went once again... I consider this one of the most difficult choice I had to make, regard Klay problem. The surgery was very risk as doctors had to go very deep inside his brain. We got there 6 am and Klay went right away into the operation room. They allowed me to be with him until he fall asleep with the anesthesia. I step out and was until 4.30 pm when the doctor came out and told me every went well, but... he was not sure if everything was removed!! And Klay would need to go for test which was almost like a surgery itself. They would make a cut on the groin and introduce a camera from there to his brain.

I only saw Klay at 9 pm leaving the room to the ICU. Thank God, surgery was successful. He did well through the night and next day could recognize me. Unfortunately, after a week in the ICU, Klay developed hydrocephaly and he had to go for another surgery, to place a permanent drain on his had. Back on the ICU he stay for another 4 months. From there, went to rehabilitation center on January. Start the psychotherapy, after a week of doing it they had a meeting with me and said Klay was not responding to the exercises. I felt something was terribly wrong, when eventually I found out he could not hear.

After discovering what was wrong we communicating in a way he could understand, he improved a lot. We did all sort of tests possible, it appears that the hearing system was working but the brain was the problem.

Well with the last surgery Klay its no longer on a risk of bleeding, but lost his hearing on the procedure.

I will not pass to you all the scares in the hospital, the infections, high fevers, because otherwise I wouldn't stop writing.

Klay is considered by the doctors as a miracle! Because he survived and it’s not a vegetable they were sure he would be. Know the treatment with stem cells arrives full of hope... Not a miracle but could help Klay have a better quality of life and, with the grace o God, his hearing could connect and he would be able to hear again. That's why we want to go to China for the treatment.

All this show how big is God loves for us, where there is no hope, he gives one!


Sueli Figueiredo – Klay’s aunt