Dear Mr. Belshaw,

My husband, Krzysztof Galicki, a tenured full math professor here at UNM, went hiking in the Alps this summer like he has done for the last 13 years or so.  The first 5 years I worried the whole time he was there that he would fall down a mountain and that I would lose him.  He laughed at me about it, it became a running joke and he would always promise not to fall.  He would also, though, remind me about giving money to his parents if anything happened to him and would very proudly say that he had taken care of everything.  So, for the last eight years of his hiking trips I have relaxed and trusted him.

On July the 8th he fell 500 feet down, his skull was fractured very badly, he had serious brain swelling and there was also an array of physical injuries that normally would be very significant but just aren't, because his brain injury is so very severe.  The hospital in Bern, Switzerland called me here in Albuquerque and told me to come as soon as I could, so I did.  I spent three weeks in Bern.  Under normal circumstances I might have enjoyed it and I did meet with a lot of kindness and compassion.

The hospital said he needed to go home and so I worked on arranging an ambulance plane which I was told would cost 200,000 swiss francs.  We tried to get our medical insurance to pay, but they didn't.  They did give 10,000 and they did also arrange a cheaper courier, we ended up paying $76,600.  I was glad we had the money, I was glad we could bring him home.  I tried contacting Senator Bingaman and Representative Wilson for help, not for help with money, but for any kind of help they could offer.  I never heard from either one of them.

I was given the choice between Presbyterian or UNMH as his receiving hospital here in Albuquerque.  friends did research for me and they advised that I choose UNMH.  I have had no regrets about his care, and I have been very grateful to the nurses for their warmth, sympathy and passionate advocacy on my part.

Right now my husband is in a coma, he has been in one for almost 5 weeks.  the longer he is unconscious the worse things look.  He does open his eyes, he does grip my hand but it may all just be reflexive. 

Mr. Belshaw, this state still does not have enough neurosurgeons or any top notch facilities for caring for people with brain injuries.  I know my husband will get the best care possible and I also know that in order to get that he may at some point, if doctors think there is still hope, be moved to another state.  I am a teacher, I work for APS, we can't afford for me not to be working.  The happiest times I have right now are when I am with him, sitting with him holding his hand, talking to him, playing him music, I can't bear the thought of not being able to have time with him every day.  Alternatively, if there is no hope I will have that time because he'll just be put in a nursing home and then I will have to face the issue of how to pay for long term care and what decisions I will have to make as his legal guardian.
  I am working on getting legal guardianship right now.  He HAD done a beautiful job of taking care of everything if "something happened" to him, but he meant if he died....and he is not dead.
There is currently still hope of a recovery, he'll never be what he was; but he was brilliant and I can happily live with less than that.

This whole thing has been "an awfully big adventure" I have become closer to my family than I thought possible.  Both of my brothers  have been with me at one time or another, my sister has been in daily contact and has worked very hard on keeping me upbeat and as positive, which has really helped.  My mother, though she is not well herself, has been a wonderful and constant support.

My husband's sister and brother-in-law  live in Australia, my sister-in-law was in Switzerland for a time.  Their parents live in Poland, they speak no English, my father-in-law had a stroke three years ago, he cannot travel and my mother-in-law will not leave him.  I send  my sister-in-law and her husband daily bulletins about how Krzysztof looks, how many suctionings he's needed, whether or not his eyes have opened while I was with him and what doctors have spoken with me.  they are also in contact with some of the doctors but neurosurgery is more often than not too busy to speak with me let alone them.

Every day something new hits me, it's usually something awful to do with money or to do with his treatment.  Usually whatever it is gets resolved somehow, some things don't but I am just living day-to-day right now and so those other long term things --like the fact he canceled his long term disability insurance, like the fact he may never come back to me, and like the fact that I am having to cope with things that I never thought I would have to cope with and there will be a lot more things to cope with -- I don't have to worry about just yet.  I do worry, though, I lie awake at night worrying, I've lost a lot of weight, and eating sometimes is a real problem.  I babble, I babble to anyone that will listen. I break down and cry at the most inconvenient moments, I've learned to put my sunglasses on when I feel a crying jag coming and believe me I have looked pretty ridiculous at times.

Through it all, I have managed to find bits of joy, I have listened to other people's stories and shared their pain, I have managed to laugh and joke with friends and family.  I am also looking forward to going back to teaching, my doctor gave me sick leave...I have 100 days, up until now I've only in 12 years of teaching taken about 3-4 days of sick leave.  I've only taken about 15 days I know I need to go back, I know it will help me and it will give me something else to think about.

I called the person you wrote about yesterday, I know that we are not vets and she cannot help us.  I just wanted to ask if she knew of any kind of support out there.  I already have a lot of great support, I am seeing my therapist twice a week, I have found a wonderful lawyer to help with the guardianship process, and I am blessed with incredible friends, family, and neighbors.  However, I am sure there is a TBI support group and I will look for it.

This is a long "screed"  I hope you read it, I hope it gives you some kind of understanding of what this awfulness is like.  You may already know.  I have read you all 17 years we have been in Albuquerque, you are the main reason I get the Journal.
Thank you for your attention

Rowan Galicka Wymark
proud wife of Dr. Krzysztof Galicki, mathematician, husband, hiker, brother, son, and good friend to good people.