Firefighter shows signs of healing
Septic infection patient is conscious, wife says; donations adding up
The Albany International Airport firefighter who nearly died from a septic infection regained consciousness and is aware of his surroundings, his wife wrote on Facebook.
“He’s awake, aware, extubated, conscious, forming his own unique thoughts, maybe a little confused, in pain, very weak, vulnerable,” Chelsea Woodward wrote Sunday of her husband Josh’s slow recovery. “... it goes on.”
“He doesn’t remember much,” she continued, writing that he was having some post-traumatic stress disorder from the tracheal tube. “He is really down and frightened about the road ahead of him.”
Still, Chelsea Woodward calls her husband’s survival a miracle.
Josh Woodward, who is also a North Bethlehem Fire Department volunteer, has been at St. Peter’s Hospital since Feb. 7. He thought he had a pulled muscle in his arm, possibly from picking up something the wrong way at the firehouse.
He planned to get some pain medicine and possibly a sling for his arm. Instead, he was rushed into emergency surgery and has been in critical condition since then.
Doctors told his wife the infection had spread from his arm to his chest, damaging his major organs. He had a heart attack. His kidneys were failing.
By the next night, doctors were warning the family that Woodward might not make it.
But in the days since, he has slowly recovered from the sepsis. He suffered a setback last week when doctors feared f lesh-eating bacteria were attacking one of his hands. Doctors weighed the possibility of amputating the hand, but Chelsea Woodward wrote last week that they later determined it was not f lesh-eating bacteria.
Medical staff continue to scrutinize the infection to his hand and the rest of his body.
“Y’all keep asking about the hand: the surgeon is coming to look first thing tomorrow morning. It doesn’t look pretty though. I’d be amazed if he didn’t lose fingers. But God has been showing off all week so...”
The Woodwards have two small children under the age of 5.
A family friend set up a Gofundme page at https://www. gofundme.com/support-thewoodward-family, and the North Bethlehem Fire Department is making its own plans to support the family. The fund is closing in on the $100,000 goal.