Children's Miracle Network

Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital

JOSEPH GURHOLT

Joseph Gurholt

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.”

Patti Shafto-Carlson
Director of Development - Children's Services
cmn@ministryhealth.org