On May 9th, APSI client Santo’s eyes were alight as he celebrated his 78th birthday aboard a cruise ship in The Bahamas with his housemate and support staff. Just four months prior, Santo laid in a hospital with a ventilator breathing for him.
When Santo got sick in January, his staff closely monitored him because he is nonverbal and could not communicate his symptoms. When his condition worsened, they called an ambulance.
“We knew something was wrong and we squadded him out immediately. And [doctors] said, ‘Thank God someone was watching him because within another 12 hours he’d have been gone,'” Santo’s long-time House Manager, Falicia Pitman, said.
Santo’s situation grew dire quickly; days into his hospitalization, he could no longer breathe on his own and was put on a ventilator. His doctor did not think he would survive. After a week on the ventilator, Santo attempted to breathe independently.
“I said, ‘This is your choice. I'm gonna stand right next to you, and we're gonna do this together.’ And I stood there, and I held his hand. And [the doctor] pulled the ventilator off, and he started breathing on his own,” Falicia said.
Five days later, Santo was recovering at home.
“I have no explanation for it. It's just that he's a fighter,” Santo’s APSI Protective Services Representative (PSR), Susan Rusinoff, said.
In the hospital, Santo’s staff fiercely advocated for him, acting as his voice. At least one member of his team was always with him to ensure his wishes were fulfilled.
“He doesn't have to have a feed tube today... Because my staff was there and advocated for him,” Falicia said.
The road from hospital to cruise was rocky, but with the exceptional dedication of his team at New Horizons, Santo slowly but surely recovered for the trip. Some staff worked overtime to help him with his physical therapy.
“It took all of us. Us five girls [Santo’s staff] put everything into this that we had to make this happen,” Falicia said.
Although Santo physically recovered, he still seemed sad. But that changed when the trip began. He usually hates traveling, but on the drive to the airport, on the plane, and throughout the whole trip, Santo was relaxed and happy.
“He flew on a plane like he had done it his entire life, and he had never been on a plane before,” Falicia said.
As his demeanor brightened, Santo became more communicative.
“He actually started blinking once for yes and twice for no for us. It was like life came back into him,” Falicia said.
Santo traveled to places he had never been: Grand Turk, Bimini, Cape Canaveral, and Orlando. Every day, he was busy from dawn to dusk; he enjoyed a formal seafood dinner, met parrots at a bird sanctuary, swam in the ocean, visited the landing site of John Glenn’s Friendship 7 shuttle, and the captain even let him steer the ship!
“He just had the best time ever,” Susan said. “When I went there [Santo’s home], and we were looking at his pictures together, he was actually trying to say words. He was pointing; he was smiling. He was pointing at the staff in the picture. That's the most animated I've ever seen him in five years.”
On his birthday, Santo was king; the cruise ship staff decorated his cabin, delivered him cake, and he got to do anything he wished.
“We lived it up,” Falicia said. “His whole cabin was decorated. The staff all got together; we dressed up. We had a bunch of formal pictures done.”
Without the support and advocacy of Santo’s team, this trip would have been impossible. It wasn’t just Susan and Falicia. His whole team was involved, including his former PSR Gabby and his support staff: Arianna, Amanda, Danell, and Lauren.
“He did so many things he hasn't done in forever,” Falicia explained. “I think sometimes with these individuals, they get comfortable at home. So, they don't do the things that we expected them or that we want them to do because they're so comfortable at home... So, when we take them out of their safe place, it broadens their mind and their horizons, and they feel free again.”
Susan emphasized how important it is that Santo went on this trip. “Why is it important for you to take a vacation? Why is it important for us to see new things, experience new sights, sounds, smells, and tastes? I mean, that's part of being alive and being human,” she said.
Moved by the profound effect of the cruise, his team is planning even more adventures for Santo. Whether it's a trip to the filming location of The Andy Griffith Show in North Carolina, a visit to a local fair, or a special seafood night at home, Santo will continue to explore new horizons and embrace life to the fullest.
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